"How can justice be found in the face of genocide, a crime so vast and evil that it defies simple justice? Is there restorative justice beyond retribution and revenge? Must some kind of justice be done before healing can take place?"
"[In Rwanda] something different had to be invented, a different way of defining justice, a different way of dispensing it." -- Jane Ciabattari
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The Aims of Restorative Justice
Restorative justice is concerned with healing victims' wounds, restoring offenders to law-abiding lives, and repairing harm done to interpersonal relationships and the community. It seeks to involve all stakeholders and provide opportunities for those most affected by the crime to be directly involved in the process of responding to the harm caused.
A central premise of restorative justice is that victims, offenders, and the affected communities are all key stakeholders in the restorative process.[1] Victims include not only those directly affected by the offense, but also family members and members of the affected community. The safety, support, and needs of these victims are the starting points for any restorative justice process. Thus a primary objective is to attend to victims' needs: material, financial, emotional, and social.[2] Addressing these needs and the needs of the community is necessary if public demands for severe punishment are to be quelled.
This requires the assumption that crimes or violations are committed against real individuals, rather than against the state. Restorative justice, therefore, advocates restitution to the victim by the offender rather than retribution by the state against the offender. Instead of continuing and escalating the cycle of violence, it tries to restore relationships and stop the violence.[3]
A restorative justice process also aims to empower victims to participate effectively in dialogue or mediation with offenders. Victims take an active role in directing the exchange that takes place, as well as defining the responsibilities and obligations of offenders. Offenders are likewise encouraged to participate in this exchange, to understand the harm they have caused to victims, and to take active responsibility for it. This means making efforts on their parts to set things right, to make amends for their violations, by committing to certain obligations, that may come in the form of reparations, restitution, or community work. While fulfilling these obligations may be experienced as painful, the goal is not revenge, but restoration of healthy relationships between individuals and within communities that have been most affected by the crime.
Restorative justice is a forward-looking, preventive response that strives to understand crime in its social context. It challenges us to examine the root causes of violence and crime in order that these cycles might be broken.[4] This approach is based on the assumption that crime has its origins in social conditions, and recognizes that offenders themselves have often suffered harm. Therefore, communities must both take some responsibility for remedying those conditions that contribute to crime and also work to promote healing.[5]
Healing is crucial not just for victims, but also for offenders. Both the rehabilitation of offenders and their integration into the community are vital aspects of restorative justice. Offenders are treated respectfully and their needs are addressed. Removing them from the community, or imposing any other severe restrictions, is a last resort. It is thought that the best way to prevent re-offending is re-integration.[6]
The justice process in this way strengthens the community and promotes changes that will prevent similar harms from happening in the future. It is generally thought that restorative justice should be integrated with legal justice as a complementary process that improves the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of justice as a whole.[7] Because they focus on the needs of the victim, the offender, and the community, restorative processes can help to determine how the law should be applied most fairly.
Processes at the National Level
Restorative justice at the national level takes on various forms. Victim-offender mediation is perhaps the most common, and involves face-to-face dialogues between victims and offenders. Victims' needs, including the need to be consulted, are the focus. In victim-offender meetings, offenders have a chance to take active steps to make reparation to their victims. This extends further than monetary compensation, and includes an apology and an explanation of how the crime occurred. The offender might also do some work for the victim, or for some community cause selected by the victim.
In addition, offenders have to listen to victims' stories and face up to the reality of what they have done. They are often deeply affected by this experience, and have positive motivation to make reparations. Because this process brings victims and offenders together and enables them to talk to one another, it can allow them to see the other as a person rather than a stereotype. For this process to be effective, a skilled mediator should facilitate these meetings.
Group conferencing is an extension of victim-offender mediation and includes more parties, such as family members of the victim or offender, community contacts, teachers, neighbors, or counselors. The involvement of extra parties can make conferencing more forceful than one-on-one mediation.
Community victim-support organizations work to provide victims with material, psychological, and social support and aid in the healing process. Other organizations offer support services for offenders, including literacy education, relationship counseling, drug counseling, and housing accommodation. Some agencies assist in reintegration for offenders and help them to find employment. Still other groups work to help communities as a whole become less prone to crime.
Restorative Justice at the International Level
Restorative justice might also have an important role in responding to severe human rights violations or cases of genocide. A crucial step toward restorative justice is taken when governments tell the truth about past atrocities carried out by the state.[8] It is thought that true healing requires three steps:
- Remembering the atrocities committed,
- Repenting, and
- Forgiving.
War crimes inquiries and truth commissions can aid in the process of memory and truth telling, and help to make public the extent to which victims have suffered.
Restoration often becomes a matter of restitution or war reparations. In cases where clear acts of injustice have taken place, some type of compensation can help to meet the material and emotional needs of victims and begin to remedy the injustice. Repentance can also help to re-establish relationships among the conflicting parties and help them to move toward reconciliation. In some cases, conflicts can end more peacefully when parties acknowledge their guilt and apologize than when formal war crimes adjudication or criminal proceedings are used.
In cases of civil war, because the line between offenders and victims can become blurred, a central goal of peacebuilding is to restore the community as a whole. Restoration often becomes tied to the transformation of the relationship between the conflicting parties. However, such restoration cannot take place unless it is supported by wider social conditions and unless the larger community makes restorative processes available.
Restorative justice in the international context is therefore linked to social structural changes, reconstruction programs to help communities ravaged by conflict, democratization, and the creation of institutions of civil society.
[1] Howard Zehr and H. Mika. 1998. "Fundamental Concepts of Restorative Justice." Contemporary Justice Review: Issues in Criminal, Social, and Restorative Justice, Volume 1, Issue 1, pp. 47-56.
[2] Tony F. Marshall. "Restorative Justice: An Overview," [on-line] Available from http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/occ-resjus.pdf. Accessed on January 29, 2003.
[3] Peggy Hutchison and Harmon Wray. "What is Restorative Justice?" [on-line] Available from http://gbgm-umc.org/nwo/99ja/what.html. Accessed on January 29, 2003.
[4] Hutchison and Wray.
[5] Marshall , 6.
[6] Zehr and Mika, 2.
[7] Marshall , 7.
[8] Hutchison and Wray.
Use the following to cite this article:
Maiese, Michelle. "Restorative Justice." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: October 2003 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/restorative_justice/>.
Sources of Additional, In-depth Information on this Topic
Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
Barton, Charles. "Empowerment and Retribution in Criminal and Restorative Justice." , 1999
Available at: http://www.voma.org/docs/barton_emp&re.pdf.
This article argues that it is the empowerment of all affected stakeholders that is the crucial feature of restorative justice, and its absence causes both conventional and restorative justice processes to fail.
Mika, H. and Howard Zehr. Fundamental Concepts of Restorative Justice.
Available at: Click here for more info.
This fact sheet outlines the key assumptions of restorative justice. The three fundamental assumptions Zehr and Mika identify are 1) crime is fundamentally a violation of people and interpersonal relationships, 2) violations create obligations and liabilities, and 3)restorative justice seeks to heal and put right the wrongs.
Coate, Roger A. and Mark S. Umbreit. Multi-Cultural Implications of Restorative Justice: Potential Pitfalls and Dangers.
Available at: Click here for more info.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss concerns regarding practitioners' implementation of restorative justice frameworks when working with persons of differing cross-cultural perspectives.
Price, Marty. Personalizing Crime: Mediation Produces Restorative Justice for Victims and Offenders.
Available at: http://www.vorp.com/articles/justice.html.
"Marty Price, an attorney and social worker turned mediator, posits his views on the merits of a restorative justice approach for criminal offenders and their victims. He explains how restorative justice transcends victim-offender mediation to emerge as a different paradigm for understanding issues of crime and justice."
Restorative Justice Online.
Available at: http://www.restorativejustice.org/.
The goal of Restorative Justice Online is to be a resource of choice for credible, non-partisan information on restorative justice. The site includes links to articles, discussions, conferences, and search engines relevant to the field.
Restorative Justice: An Overview. Home Office, UK.
Available at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/occ-resjus.pdf.
This paper provides an overview of restorative justice. It discusses the primary objectives of restorative justice, the central assumptions that underlie it, and the relationship between restorative justice and legal justice. Marshall also lists various organizations that promote such processes and explores the various restorative practices popular in the United States: victim-offender mediation, group conferencing, and programs sponsored by justice agencies.
Hutchison, Peggy and Harmon Wray. "What Is Restorative Justice?." ,
Available at: http://gbgm-umc.org/nwo/99ja/what.html.
This article addresses the aims of restorative justice, provides examples of domestic and international restorative justice, and discusses the role that religion might play in supporting restorative justice programs.
Offline (Print) Sources
Van Ness, Daniel W. and Karen Heetderks Strong. Restoring Justice. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Company, April 1, 1997.
This work provides "an overview of the restorative justice movement and includes suggestions for incorporating restorative justice into the American judicial system". The attached review is one of four at the URL listed and must be scrolled down to in order to read.
Biggar, Nigel, ed. Burying the Past: Making Peace and Doing Justice after Civil Conflict. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, March 2001.
This is a collection of essays drawn together by Nigel Biggar (Professor of Theology at the University of Leeds) that explores the challenges of establishing democracy after a period of violent and prolonged civil conflict. Relationships within the populace must be restored so that reprisals and revenge do not undermine or subvert emerging democratic processes. Click here for more info.
Zehr, Howard. Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and Justice. Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press, April 1990.
This book discusses the experience of crime and outlines the central concepts of restorative justice. Zehr details the abuses of our current retributive justice system and proposes that we develop a new criminal justice system that works to restore justice. In particular, he believes that we should further develop a victim-offender mediation program in the United States.
Zehr, Howard. "Restorative Justice." In Peacebuilding: A Field Guide. Edited by Reychler, Luc and Thania Paffenholz, eds. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc., 2001.
The author discusses a conception of justice that he believes can address wrongdoing while at the same time promoting law and peace. He describes two central methods for advancing restorative justice: family group conferencing and victim offender reconciliation programs.
Strang, Heather and John Braithwaite, eds. Restorative Justice and Civil Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, September 2001.
Advocates of restorative justice often question the success of retributive, state-sponsored justice. This volume considers the relationship between restorative justice and civil society, as well as the broader issues of democracy, human rights, and equity. It discusses the ways in which restorative justice processes seek to provide victims, offenders, their families, and communities with more representation in the justice process.
Cragg, Wesley. The Practice of Punishment: Towards a Theory of Restorative Justice. New York: Routledge, May 1992.
The author argues that the state should determine policies for criminal sentencing and corrections with the principle of restorative justice in mind.
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Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
Tkachuk, Brian. "Criminal Justice Reform: Lessons Learned, Community Involvement, and Restorative Justice." HEUNI Papers , 2002
Available at: http://www.heuni.fi/uploads/hl5y98fikdy.pdf.
In April 2002, the United Nations Programme Network Institutes held a workshop surrounding the issue of restorative justice. Workshop presentations discussed practical and substantive ways to involve the community in the restorative justice process and to implement restorative justice practices. This report outlines the development of restorative justice practices in a variety of countries.
Knox, Colin and Rachel Monaghan. ESRC Violence Research Project: Informal Criminal Justice Systems in Northern Ireland.
Available at: http://www.qualidata.essex.ac.uk/dataResources/mrdoc/q163.asp.
Informal systems of criminal justice have led to continuing paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland, where beatings and shootings have become predominant forms of "punishment." If community-based justice is to be genuinely restorative, it must undergo radical changes.
Masters, G. and Ann Warner Roberts. Group Conferencing: Restorative Justice in Practice.
Available at: http://www.restorativejustice.org/articlesdb/articles/1006.
This study is aimed at practitioners and others interested in what is commonly known as "family group conferencing" within a framework of restorative justice. The report includes seven projects in Britain and three in Minnesota and describes the process in three categories: planning, implementation and evaluation. These case studies describe what has worked and what has not in implementing family group conferencing programs.
Ruth-Heffelbower, Duane. Indonesia: Restorative Justice for Healing a Divided Society.
Available at: http://peace.fresno.edu/docs/indorj.pdf.
This paper uses theory on restorative justice developed through years of practical application, and examines recent efforts to apply the principles to various aspects of Indonesia's crises. The author suggests that acknowledging injustice and restoring equity are central to restorative justice and reconciliation in Indonesia.
Liebman, Marian. Restorative Justice in Uganda and Russia.
Available at: http://www.restorativejustice.org/resources/docs/liebmann/download.
The author describes work conducted by small NGOs in Uganda and Russia to try to promote restorative justice. This reflects current moves in several countries in Africa and Russia to return to a more traditional restorative justice model. Formal court proceeding and prisons not only are too expensive for governments to sustain, but also do nothing to compensate the victims. As a result, there have been moves toward Community Service and Victim/Offender Mediation.
Zehr, Howard. Restorative Justice: When Justice and Healing Go Together.
Available at: http://ccrweb.ccr.uct.ac.za/archive/two/6_34/p20_restorative.html.
This article discusses the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's attempt to do justice restoratively in South Africa. While this approach does vindicate victims by allowing them to tell their stories and by investigating what happened, restorative justice must also seek to meet victims' needs through reparations and rehabilitation. The author discusses how to better achieve these further goals.
Ciabattari, Jane. Rwanda Gambles on Renewal, Not Revenge.
Available at: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/301/context/archive.
This article discusses restorative justice in the context of Rwanda's genocide. In the wake of terrible violence, Rwanda is reviving a tribal system of wise persons sitting in deliberation and judgment. The goal is to move beyond retributive justice so that relationships can be restored and healing can take place.
Offline (Print) Sources
Davis, Albie M. "The Logic Behind the Magic of Mediation." 5:1, January 1989.
The author describes the community mediation of a case involving the burglary and vandalism of a woman's home by a group of neighborhood youths. Within mediation the woman was able to express her loss. The youths came to understand the harm they had done. They apologized and agreed to make restitution. Davis identifies the elements of mediation which help such "magical" events to occur.
Click here for more info.
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Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:
Offline (Print) Sources
Choropampa - The Price of Gold . Directed and/or Produced by: Cabellos, Ernesto and Stephanie Boyd. First Run Icarus Films. 2002.
This film depicts the life of a Peruvian mayor who leads the fight against a powerful mining corporation that was responsible for a mercury spill in his community. Click here for more info.
Facing the Demons . Directed and/or Produced by: Ziegler, Aviva. First Run Icarus Films. 1999.
This film looks at the process of restorative justice through the eyes of a New Zealand murder, and through the eyes of the victim's family and friends. Click here for more info.
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