Document Actions
January 2007 Edition
Last modified 2006-12-29 20:19
A Survey of 10 Years of New Zealand Court Cases on Restorative Justice
This paper by Judge Stan Thorburn offers a brief account of the development of restorative justice in the Courts of New Zealand since it has been practised over the past 10 years. In particular, it examines a selection of court decisions and identifies significant principles emerging from them. Finally, it compares those to legislation, in particular the Sentencing Act 2002.
Making Victims' Voices Heard
Victims’ Voices Heard (VVH) provides victims and victim survivors of severe violence the opportunity to meet with their offenders in a facilitated encounter. Located in Delaware, it is based on a model first developed in Texas. Kim Book, programme coordinator for VVH, describes her experience with the criminal justice system and shares a victim perspective on the mediation process.
Involving Victims in Restorative Youth Justice in England through Youth Offender Panels
Youth Offender Panels in England and Wales seek to hold young offenders accountable for their behaviour while involving victims in the process. A recent evaluation of the programme in Leeds found a positive impact on both victims and offenders. In this article, Adam Crawford, one of the researchers, summarizes the findings.
Proposed Restorative Justice Legislation in Brazil
In late 2005, the Commission of Participatory Legislation of the Brazilian House of Representatives held a public discussion on restorative justice. Tasked with bringing civil society organizations into the democratic process, the Commission sponsored the hearing at the request of the Instituto de Direito Comparado e Internacional de Brasilía. As a part of its intervention, the Instituto provided the Commission with draft restorative justice legislation for consideration.
Real People, Real Stories: A Transforming Journey
Restorative processes offer many benefits for victims and offenders. In this article, a survivor of a violent rape shares her experiences of release and healing through victim offender mediation.
Community Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland – An Overview
Community restorative justice programmes developed in Northern Ireland as an alternative to punitive "self-policing" by the IRA and Loyalist groups. In this article, Brian Gormally, a practitioner working in Northern Ireland, provides an overview of the development of community restorative justice initiatives, their importance to the community, and the obstacles they are encountering.
The Politicisation of Community Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland
Community restorative justice programmes in Northern Ireland developed in an atmosphere of conflict and distrust of formal justice institutions. Recently, their informal community base has been a point of contention as these programmes have sought governmental funding. Anna Eriksson, of the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice Queen’s University of Belfast, describes this politicisation of community restorative justice in Northern Ireland.
Restorative Justice in the Youth Court: A Square Peg in a Round Hole?
New Zealand is known as a leader in the application of restorative justice to youth offending, with over 80% of juvenile offenses being handled through police diversion. The remaining 16-20% results in formal charges in the youth court. This article provides excerpts of a paper that examines the restorative potential of the New Zealand youth court. The full paper, written by Judge Andrew Becroft, Principal Youth Court Judge, New Zealand Youth Court, is attached.
Restorative Justice in Prisons – An International Perspective
Increasing numbers of restorative justice programmes are being introduced into prisons. Marian Liebmann presented an overview of these programmes at the Third International Winchester Restorative Justice Group Conference. This article outlines Liebmann’s paper and provides a link to the full text.
Bridges to Life: A Promising In-Prison Restorative Justice Intervention
Bridges to Life is an in-prison restorative justice programme that facilitates meetings between offenders and unrelated victims. This article is drawn from a paper by Marilyn Armour, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. The complete article is attached.
New Restorative Approach to Sex Crimes
The RESTORE programme offers an alternative to conventional justice processes for victims of date and acquaintance rape. In this article, Mary P. Koss, principal investigator for the RESTORE project, offers an overview of the programme.
How Could You Do This to Me?
The Centre for Sexual Assault in Copenhagen provides many services to women who have been victimized by sexual assault. The Centre offers a victim offender mediation project to allow women to confront their attackers in face-to-face meetings or by correspondence. In this article, Karin Sten Madsen, a counselor with the Centre, explains the reasons for the programme and relates the experiences of three women who chose to participate in it.
Mediation in Belgium: Law of 22 June 2005 Implementing Mediation in the Code of Criminal Procedure
In June 2005, a new mediation law in Belgium opened the door for victims or offenders to request mediation in any criminal case. In this article, David Eyckmans of the Forum for Mediation and Restorative Justice - vzw Suggnomè describes the new law.
Victim Offender Mediation in Sweden
In Sweden, experiments with victim offender mediation began in the 1980s and gained legislative recognition in 2002. In this article excerpt, Lottie Wahlin of the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention provides an overview of the use of mediation in Sweden. The full text of the article is provided.
New Juvenile Justice Law in the Philippines
With the signing of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act 2006 by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippines introduced a new juvenile justice system. Among the many provisions seeking to protect children in conflict with the law, the legislation calls for restorative justice to be an integral part of the new system.
Serious Crimes Conferencing in Baltimore
The Community Conferencing Center offers a variety of conference services in Baltimore, Maryland. The center offers court diversion for non-violent offenses, alternatives to school suspension, re-entry conferencing, and neighborhood conflict resolution. In this article, Lauren Abramson, executive director of the Community Conferencing Center, provides an overview of a serious crimes conference held in a prison setting.
Community Mediation and Community Development In Scotland
Over 3000 community conflicts in Scotland are resolved through Community Mediation each year. The NGO Sacro has developed a series of manuals for developing a Community Mediation service. The final manual addresses the role of community mediation in fostering community development. In this article, Ian McDonough, mediation adviser for Sacro, provides an overview of the manual with a link to the full-text.
Restorative Justice in Sentencing: South Africa
In a recent sentencing decision in a murder case, Judge E. Bertelsmann of the High Court of South Africa wrote of the importance of restorative justice in the South Africa context. The full decision is presented here with a downloadable version attached.
Using Restorative Conferencing for Healing of Victims and Offenders in New South Wales
The Restorative Justice Unit of the New South Wales Department of Corrective Services was established in 1999. It offers conferencing after the offender is in the custody of the Department. In the attached article, Kate Milner, manager of the Unit, provides an overview of its work with victim offender conferencing and of a new re-entry initiative.
Real People, Real Stories: The Challenges Facing a Juvenile Probation Officer in Restorative Justice
Restorative justice practitioners who are part of the criminal justice system can face role conflicts. In this article, Lance F. Kelley describes his experience as a probation officer facilitating restorative justice conferences.
Restorative Justice for Juveniles and Adults in Thailand
In 2004, Thailand introduced restorative conferencing as a response to juvenile offending. This approach has subsequently been expanded for use in domestic violence cases and with adult offenders through the Department of Probation. In this article, Wanchai Roujanavong, Director General of the Department of Probation, describes the introduction of restorative justice into Thailand, its legislative support, and outcomes to date.
Restorative Justice and Victim Offender Mediation in Romania
With encouragement from the European Union and the advocacy work of academics and civil society organizations, Romania is beginning to use victim offender mediation as an alternative to court processes in some cases. This article, drawn from an article by Dr. Doina Balahur, summarizes the recent Romanian legislation related to restorative justice. The complete article is attached.
Restorative Justice in Portugal
The legal systems in civil law societies such as Portugal apply the legality principle that limits the discretion of judges and prosecutors to divert matters from criminal proceedings. This article, summarized from a paper by Federico Marques and João Lázaro, reviews efforts in Portugal to introduce victim offender mediation using existing legal measures. The full article is attached for download.
Restorative Justice and Peace in Northern Ireland
It is well known that Northern Ireland is engaged in a peace process to recreate society after 30 years of violent internal conflict. Significant progress has been made: political violence has ended, negations between different factions have taken place as have fundamental changes in the system of governance. However, unresolved issues call into question the depth to which society itself has been transformed. This article - summarized from a paper by Brendan McAllister, director of Mediation Northern Ireland - provides an overview of the conflict, peace process and how restorative justice has become a litmus test for the working out of the peace process.
