Pacific

Provides articles discussing restorative justice advancements in the Pacific. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

• Tonga |
• Australia |
• Fiji |
• Guam |
• New Zealand |
• Palau |
• Papua New Guinea

Naitoro, John Houainamo. Solomon Islands conflict: Demands for historical rectification and restorative justice.

In this paper, Naitoro examines an ethnic conflict in the Solomon Islands and the prospects for resolution of the conflict. Naitoro seeks to show that historical injustices through colonialism contributed to the current conflict. Hence, rectification of those historical injustices could contribute to resolution of the conflict. Restorative justice is relevant to the analysis and resolution of the conflict because restorative justice aims to repair harm resulting from crime, injustice, or conflict, and to restore well-being to relationships, communities, and societies. In this context, Naitoro sketches the historical background to the issues, indigenous movements to redress colonial injustices, post-colonial conditions, and the specific application of restorative justice to the conflict.

Norapoompipat, Pornpit. Participation of the Public and Victims for More Effective Administration in the Treatment of Offenders

This paper on the participation of the public and victims in the treatment of offenders addresses the participation of the public in institutional and community-based treatment, as well as the involvement of victims in the treatment of offenders, with attention to the situations in the countries represented in the work group in which this paper was presented (Kenya, Japan, Thailand, Fiji, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, and the Republic of Korea). The section of the paper on participation of the public in the institutional treatment of offenders addresses prison labor and rehabilitation programs. The latter programs include vocational and education training, life guidance, and work release. For each of these types of programs, the actual situation in various countries is reviewed, along with obstacles to their implementation and effectiveness, as well as recommendations for countermeasures. A section on the participation of the public in community-based treatment first considers the benefits of such treatment and then considers the following community-based program categories: probation and parole, halfway houses and probation hostels, community work programs, aftercare services, mediation, and fine payment. For each of these types of programs, the paper considers the situation in various countries, obstacles to their implementation and effectiveness, and recommendations for improvement. The involvement of victims in the treatment of offenders is discussed in a section that addresses restorative justice programs and problems and challenges in using restorative justice programs in various countries. A table shows the involvement of victims in the treatment of offenders in the countries represented in the work group.

Prenzler, Tim and Palk, Gerard and Hayes, Hennessey. Restorative justice and community conferencing: summary of findings from a pilot study

Empirical research in juvenile justice has not kept up with the central momentum of 'restorative justice' reforms. While there seems to be growing support for the restorative notion of various initiatives like victim-offender mediation and conferencing, there has been relatively little systematic research on the effectiveness of such initiatives. Recognizing the need for systematic evaluation of these types of initiatives, the Queensland Department of Justice commissioned an evaluation of its 'community conferencing' pilot project. (excerpt)

Fenton, Florence. Ethnic diversity-challenges for courts

Florence Fenton, Director of the Fiji Law Reform Commission, begins this address by providing a summary of the historical, social, geographical, and political background to the current situation in Fiji. This involves in particular discussion of traditional customary approaches to conflict and wrongdoing and approaches structured in terms of European colonial culture. In general, Fenton examines issues and problems arising out of Fiji’s ethnic diversity as that diversity affects the interaction between culture and traditions on the one hand and the formal legal system on the other hand.

Kelly, Loretta. Using restorative justice principles to address family violence in aboriginal communities

Noting that many writers root restorative justice in ancient cultures, Loretta Kelly in this chapter poses two questions about restorative justice. Does it have roots in indigenous Australian culture? Is it culturally appropriate in contemporary indigenous Australian life? She asks these questions in the context of high rates of family violence – such as abuse and murder of aboriginal women at the hands of men they know – in indigenous communities. To address them Kelly examines many dimensions of aboriginal life and culture and restorative justice: the widespread problem of violence in aboriginal communities; the colonial context of family violence; the unique concerns of aboriginal women; the situation for victims of violence; restorative justice theory and practice in the indigenous context; reintegrative shaming and the aboriginal context; the potential of restorative justice in dealing with family violence; and her recommendations for restorative justice to be culturally appropriate in aboriginal communities.

Becroft, Andrew. 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.

Boge, Volker. Conflict potential and violent conflicts in the South Pacific: Options for a Civil Peace Service- A study for Service Overseas

In this paper, Volker Boge observes that modern warfare largely consists of internal wars in lesser developed countries (so called Third World countries). The region of the South Pacific is increasingly affected by factors that cause such wars and by the danger of war itself. In view of these realities, Boge urges the following aims: recognize and analyze potentially violent conflicts; identify factors and people who can help to work against violent escalation of a conflict; and find ways to manage these conflicts and prevent violent crises. To support these aims, Boge distinguishes different types of crisis or conflict prevention: structural prevention; process-oriented prevention; pre-conflict primary prevention; and remedial post-conflict prevention. A particular measure for preventing or reducing conflict would be the sending of peace workers within the framework of a Civil Peace Service. With all of this in mind, Boge surveys several areas rife with existing and potential conflict: Bougainville, Papua New Guinea; the Solomon Islands; Fiji; and Vanuatu. In each instance, he presents a summary, evaluation, and recommendations; historical background to the conflict and its causes; recent developments and the current situation; and possibilities for conflict resolution and a Civil Peace Service; and potential partners for a Civil Peace Service.

Banks, Cyndi. Victims in the Village: Aspects of Restorative Justice in Papua New Guinea

In the villages of Vanimo West Coast, Papua New Guinea, restorative justice processes continue to adhere to traditional practices and beliefs. The article examines how modernization has influenced traditional restorative practices and in particular how the criminal justice system is perceived and used by indigenous peoples. It also identifies the kinds of acts considered injurious, traditional restorative justice practices, and modern attitudes and practices by victims seeking justice. Villages have maintained a private/public distinction in their disputes, keeping disputes between close kin private, and publicizing others. Traditionally, disputes made public would be taken to the Chief. Today, in some cases, the courts and the community government council are the chosen forums for publication. Sometimes a victim seeks only to shame the offender by making the dispute public, this being an end in itself. The article makes explicit the capacity of victims for adaptation and the continued resilience of custom in resolving grievances. Abstract courtesy of Natinal Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Thorburn, Stan. 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.

Wing Lo, T and Wong, Dennis and Maxwell, Gabrielle. Diversion From Youth Courts in Five Asia Pacific Jurisdictions: Welfare or Restorative Solutions

This article examines how juvenile offenders are diverted from prosecution in juvenile courts in five Asia Pacific jurisdictions: Queensland, Australia; New Zealand; Hong Kong; Singapore; and China. In all of these jurisdictions, there has been a trend away from punitive and retributive approaches to the diversion of juvenile offenders from prosecution in a court to the community-based welfare model and the restorative model. The community-based welfare model relies primarily on counseling, community support, and educational assistance and is usually led by professionals. This model tends to categorize juvenile offenders as having problem behaviors and emotional conditions that require treatment and supervision. The restorative model emphasizes the accountability of juvenile offenders for the harms their behavior caused and uses negotiation among the youth, their victims, and the youth's family to develop measures for repairing the harm done and addressing the youth's behaviors that caused the harm. This model limits the involvement of professionals in decisionmaking about the disposition of the case. New Zealand and Queensland use the restorative model. Criticisms of this model have included the lack of due process and protections for the rights of offenders, as well as the potential for undue influence by the police. Hong Kong and Singapore have adopted a traditional rehabilitation and welfare orientation whereby police divert juveniles from the courts through police cautions and referrals to community support and guidance services operated by social workers. In China, community-based practices such as police cautions, mediation, and educational assistance are used in diverting youth from court-based processing. Community-based sanctions are particularly susceptible to the influence of personal power and persuasion, and outcomes may favor those who have close affiliations with or hold powerful positions in the government. Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov.

Chan, Janet B.L.. Reshaping Juvenile Justice. The NSW Young Offenders Act 1997

Reshaping Juvenile Justice examines reforms in New South Wales under the Young Offenders Act 1997. The Act institutionalizes a fresh approach to juvenile justice – one that regulates police discretion at the gate-keeping level, emphasizes diversion as a principle, introduces restorative conferencing as an intermediate intervention, and relegates the use of courts to the last resort. (publisher’s abstract)

McElrea, F W M. Auckland City Council v B&C Shaw Ltd. And George Bernard Shaw. Notes of Judge FWM McElrea on Sentencing.

These sentencing notes discuss the elements of an environmental case in which a property developer was accused of removing a tree from his property that was protected by local ordinance and considered important by community members. In his sentencing notes, Judge McElrea outlines the process of encounter between the defendant and community members, the public expression of apology and desire to make things right, and the agreement developed to respond to the offense.

Maxwell, Gabrielle and Hayes, Hennessey. Restorative Justice Developments in the Pacific Region.

Restorative justice has grown in popularity around the world, and various restorative initiatives are in place ore are being trialled. New Zealand and Australia have the most experience with restorative justice in the form of conferencing primarily for young offenders, although conferencing for adult offenders is increasingly being used in these jurisdictions. In the Pacific Islands older forms of customary practices endure despite the introduction of modern Western justice systems. In this paper we provide a comprehensive review of these developments to show the degree to which this region has embraced restorative justice as a way of responding to crime. (Authors' abstract)

Adams, Helen and Prestidge, Brian and McMenamin, Donald and Cronin-Lampe, Ron and Cronin-Lampe, Kathy and Jenner, Kerry and Macfarlane, Angus H and Winslade, John and Drewery, Wendy. Restorative Practices for Schools, A Resource: Human Development and Counselling Monograph 1

This booklet has been prepared for the use of a range of educational professionals who are interested in introducing restorative practices in their school. The materials were originally prepared for the use of schools for the purpose of reducing suspensions. (excerpt)

Department of Corrective Services. Justice Mediation.

This document outlines procedures for post-sentence mediation between victims and offenders within the Department of Corrective Service, Queensland, Australia.

Morris, Allison and Maxwell, Gabrielle and Hayes, Hennessey. Conferencing and Restorative Justice

Family group conferences in the New Zealand youth justice system have been the centre of international interest since they were introduced there in 1989, and they have since been imitated by a number of countries. Enabling legislation for juvenile offenders has been passed in New Zealand, Australia, England and Wales, Canada, Ireland, and Singapore. Also in New Zealand, legislation has been passed for adult offenders. Various versions of conferencing for young offenders have been introduced in Belgium, Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States. More recently, new initiatives have been taken to introduce restorative conferencing in Brazil and Argentina for both adults and young people. In this chapter, we describe restorative justice conferencing for juveniles with a particular emphasis on New Zealand and Australia and assess the extent to which it can be said to reflect restorative justice processes and to result in restorative justice outcomes using research chiefly drawn from Australasia and North America. In addition, we examine data on the extent to which conferencing can reduce re-offending. But first, we discuss the development of restorative justice conferencing. (excerpt)

Dinnen, Sinclair. Restorative justice and the governance of security in the Southwest Pacific

This chapter examines the social and historical foundations of restorative justice practices in the Melanesian countries of the Southwest Pacific and, in particular, in the independent states of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and, to a lesser extent, Fiji. There are a number of reasons for considering restorative justice in what for many readers is likely to be an unfamiliar part of the world. In the first place, this region is distinguished by its extraordinary high levels of socio-linguistic diversity and legal pluralism. Consequently, there is a richness of regulatory traditions and practices, reflecting the complex entanglement of different social and political orders to be found within the national borders of each of these “imagined communities.” This diversity is particularly marked in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Large numbers of relatively autonomous and self-regulating tribal and clan-based associations continue to exert a significant influence at local levels alongside generally weak introduced national justice systems. While the former have evolved over thousands of years, the latter are the product of a relatively short and recent colonial past. (excerpt)

Government of Tasmania. Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1997

This legislation outlines the practice of family group conferencing for the Australian state of Tasmania.

Parliament of New Zealand . Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act 1989.

Outlines a the process for family group conferencing is sections 20-38.

Parliament of New Zealand . Corrections Act 2004.

In section 6, this legislation calls for the corrections system to ensure that offenders have access to processes that promote restorative justice.