Justicia Restaurativa is a succinct and informative book on restorative justice divided into three distinct parts: (1) a description of the restorative justice movement; (2) a review of  restorative justice experiences in various countries; (3) a description of the current status of restorative justice in Chile, with suggestions for further developments.  Although short in length (88 pages), the book portrays some of the most important ideas, challenges and successes of the restorative justice movement and initial recommendations for the gradual incorporation of restorative justice in Chile.   

The authors first explore the difficulty of finding any single definition to describe restorative justice.  They present some of the most commonly accepted definitions of restorative justice, such as those offered by Tony Marshall, Bazemore and Walgrave, and Van Ness and Strong, and adopt Bazemore and Walgrave’s definition: Restorative justice is “all action oriented principally to do justice through the restoration or reparation of the harm caused by crime."  They offer three reasons for choosing this definition over others:

• it includes both restorative processes and outcomes

• it places proper emphasis on reparation of harm as the fundamental value of restorative justice

• it raises the four most important questions about restorative justice: What must be restored?; To whom?; How?; and What is justice and how can it be achieved? 

The second part of the book compares the experience in restorative justice of New Zealand, Australia, Canada and England. It describes the use and implementation challenges of several restorative processes:

• Family Group Conferences

• Youth Offender Panels

• Victim-Offender Mediation

• Community Circles

This section also provides a brief description of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programs in Criminal Matters, with a discussion of how this has advanced international law. 

In the final part of Justicia Restaurativa, the authors briefly describe restorative justice elements in various community practices, particularly the Cortes Vecinales or Neighborhood Courts implemented during the 60s and 70s in greater Santiago, and the practices of the Mapuche indigenous people.  They offer tentative proposals for the incorporation of restorative justice in Chile, acknowledging the limited political will for introducing restorative justice in Chile. Despite the presence of practices with restorative justice elements, the authors argue that restorative justice is marginal in Chile.  Even the new Criminal Procedure Reform and programmes, including elements of restorative justice, have been viewed with skepticism and criticized for promoting impunity and having a high cost.  Adding to this lack of institutional support is the media portrayal of crime and citizen security with an emphasis on repression.  

The authors conclude that there are three areas where restorative justice principles can begin to be applied and gradually incorporated into legislation: 

• Reparative agreements. Restorative Justice practices can be incorporated into the processes of creating reparative agreements by including more participants in the meetings; by using different mediation approaches; by ensuring compliance with the agreement; by clarifying the role of the community; and by focusing on the type of crimes that are most conducive to reparative agreements.

• Juvenile offenders. Currently a bill concerning juvenile responsibility for breaking criminal law is being discussed by Congress.  This bill offers interesting possibilities for including restorative justice practices such as family group conferencing.  However, the authors warn that the bill is controversial and may not pass.

• Violence in the family.  The authors believe that restorative justice practices could be used in this area, although only with many precautions. They recommend against applying restorative justice practices in this area initially, but rather propose that this should be done after competence in the other areas has emerged. 

Justicia Restaurativa presents restorative justice as a movement in flux.  Although cautious in their approach to public policy possibilities, the authors offer useful points of departure for more debate and reflection on the role restorative justice can play in Chile.

[1] The title of the book translates to: Restorative Justice: Theoretical Framework, Comparative Experiences, and Proposals for Public Policy.

Miguel Tello
December 2004