January 2009 Edition.
Over the last year, we have seen the continuing interest in restorative justice as programmes are implemented and more research is done. The stories below appear in the order in which they were featured on the site since January 2008.
New Guidelines for Implementing Mediation in Europe
In November 2007, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) issued Guidelines for a Better Implementation of the Existing Recommendation Concerning Mediation in Penal Matters. The document urges member states of the Council of Europe to further develop the understanding and use of penal mediation and restorative justice in all aspects of the criminal justice system.
Court Ruling Upholds Principles of Restorative Justice, Overturns Shaming Sanction
In January, a ruling from the High Court of South Africa (Eastern Cape Division) set aside a lower court ruling requiring a defendant convicted of six counts of fraud to publicly wear a placard announcing her guilt and asking her victims for forgiveness. In setting aside this one aspect of the sentence, the High Court referenced both the unconstitutionality of the sanction and its departure from the principles of restorative justice.
Legislating the Use of Victim Offender Mediation in Portugal
In July 2007, Portugal enacted "Law no. 21/2007 of June 12" regulating the use of victim offender mediation. The legislation outlines cases in which mediation can be used, the process for referral, limits on mediation agreements, and the criteria for mediators. This article provides a summary of a larger article written by Paulo de Brito, Justice Auditor from the Centre d’Études Judiciares in Lisbon, describing the development of victim offender mediation in Portugal within the larger European framework.
Restorative Justice in Africa: Fruits of Networking
Interest in restorative justice is growing throughout Africa. In this article, Marian Liebmann, a restorative justice trainer in the UK, describes how a conference in Lagos, Nigeria allowed individuals from different countries to connect and share experiences.
South African Programme Shows Promise
In April 2007, the Phoenix Justice and Restoration programme (JARP) began offering restorative justice and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services in the Phoenix community of the South African province of KwaZulu Natal. The pilot project sought to lower court backlogs and to help those in the community develop ways of responding to crime and conflict without resorting to the court system. This article summarises the evaluation results from the first few months of Phoenix JARP from a report prepared by Professor Herman Conradie of the Department of Criminology of the University of South Africa, Hema Hargovan and Dr. VR Chetty from the Department of Criminology of the University of KwaZulu Natal. A link to the full report is included.
Howard League Commission on English Prisons Today
The Howard League Commission on English Prisons Today (Commission) was established in May of 2007 to explore various issues related to prisons and prisoners including the appropriate use of prisons and best use of community sanctions. To this end, the Commission created a Restorative Justice Working Group. In this article, Dr. Carolyn Hoyle, chair of the working group, describes the work of the Commission related to restorative justice and asks several questions seeking feedback from practitioners around the world.
New Report Highlights Australia’s Use of FGCs in Child Protection Cases
In the child protection arena, family group conferencing (FGC) allows nuclear families, extended family members, and friends discuss concerns about the safety of children and strategies for addressing those. First developed in New Zealand in 1989, FGCs quickly spread to other countries in the early 1990s. In Australia, the first FGC pilot project with child protection was launched in 1992 in the state of Victoria and since then has been implemented in all but one of Australian states and territories. Recently, the National Child Protection Clearing House released an article by Nathan Harris highlighting the FGC development in Australia since 1992. This article summarizes the paper with a link to the full text.
New Report Highlights Traditional Courts in Afghanistan
A recent Afghanistan Human Development Report sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme recommends that the country's justice system be rebuilt by creating a hybrid system blending traditional conflict resolution structures and the formal justice system. It argues that this would not only improve access to justice, it would also build public confidence in justice institutions. Following is a summary and a link to the full report.
New Practitioner’s Toolkit for Restorative Justice
In late 2007, the Restorative Justice Initiative of Southern Africa released its Practice Standards for Restorative Justice. Focused on ensuring quality of service in restorative programmes in both government agencies and non-governmental organizations, the standards create a means for organizations to evaluate the quality and restorativeness of their programmes.
Does Terrorism Leave Space for Restorative Justice? The Case of Israel-Palestine.
Terrorism poses difficult questions about the use of restorative justice to rebuild communities and relationships. In this article Dr. Uri Yanay of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discusses obstacles and possibilities, drawing from peacemaking efforts addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Victims Advocating for Restorative Justice
On May 13, a new London-based organization was launched to support the right of crime victims to have access to restorative justice programmes. The organization, Why Me?, is the brainchild of businessman Will Riley who had surprised and fought with a burglar in his home. The subsequent restorative conference with the offender, Peter Woolf, proved to be a powerful experience changing both their lives.
Ireland Exploring Further Restorative Justice Implementation
The National Commission on Restorative Justice (Commission) in Ireland has released an interim report on its work to develop a policy framework for expanding the use of restorative justice throughout the country. The report suggests possible pilot projects and describes issues still to be studied.
Restorative Justice and Reconviction
The Ministry of Justice (formerly the Home Office) in London released the last in a series of reports on the effectiveness of restorative justice. This report discusses the reconviction rates and cost effectiveness of three restorative justice schemes funded under the Home Office Crime Reduction Programme from mid-2001 through 2004.
Lesotho Explores Restorative Justice in Draft Bill
The Attorney General’s office of Lesotho is reviewing the draft Children’s Protection and Welfare Bill (CPWB) that will be debated when parliament resumes session. Addressing all aspects of the treatment and protection of children, the bill includes an extensive section on restorative justice and diversion for children in conflict with the law.
Consultation Continues on Formation of a National Canadian Restorative Justice Organization
In January 2008, a Steering Committee began circulating a discussion paper to determine whether there is interest in forming a national restorative justice organization in Canada.
Restorative Practices in New School Discipline Policy
At its August 2008 meeting, the Denver Public Schools board approved a new discipline policy that includes restorative interventions. Created by a coalition school board members and community groups, the new policy seeks to lower the district's reliance on suspension and referral to law enforcement agencies. At the same time, they seek to give students and their parents more of a voice in the disciplinary process.
Grassroots Reconciliation in Sierra Leone
Since the end of its civil war, Sierra Leone has faced many challenges as ex-combatants and their victims return to their communities, often living side-by-side. Official mechanisms such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the U.N. backed tribunals have had limited impact for those living in rural communities who suffered the most from the war. In response, the non-governmental, human rights organization Forum of Conscience has begun to revive traditional conflict resolution measures to bring victims and ex-combatants together in reconciliation ceremonies.
Finding Release in Prison: A Victim’s Story
After the brutal murder of her fifteen year old daughter, Karen was devastated. Yet she needed that terrible experience to be turned toward a positive purpose. To that end she volunteered to participate in the Sycamore Tree Project® -- a faith-based, in-prison restorative justice programme – in order to share her story with prisoners who had caused similar pain through their violent acts. To their surprise, both she and her husband discovered that they had been given a way to address and let go of some of the anger and pain they had been holding.
A Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Canada
In June 2008, the Canadian government undertook an effort to understand the history, abuses and intergenerational impact of the Indian Residential School (IRS) system that operated in Canada for over 100 years. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) seeks to provide survivors and others affected by the IRS system a safe and culturally relevant opportunity to share their stories. By educating the entire country on the realities of this little understood period of its history, it hopes to build common understanding and better relations among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.
New Online Journal on Peacebuilding
Peace Prints: the South Asian Journal of Peacebuilding provides a forum for academics and practitioners in South Asia to share their experiences internationally while at the same time receiving insights from projects around the world. The inaugural issue focuses on strategic peacebuilding.
Investigating Restorative Justice Implementations for Ireland
In March 2007, Ireland established the National Commission on Restorative Justice to explore implementation in Ireland. To date, the Commission has published an interim report with recommendations and continues its work until mid-year 2009. This article describes the work of the Commission. It is excerpted from a longer article by Martin Haverty, a researcher for the Commission and includes a link to the full-text.
Using Theatre to Communicate Restorative Justice
Inafa’ Maolek Conciliation offers a variety of conflict resolution services in Guam including work place mediation, peer mediation, and restorative justice. It developed the Peace Theatre programme to teach the principles of conflict resolution in an easily understood fashion. In this article, Pat Wolff, executive director of Inafa’ Maolek, briefly describes the use of the restorative justice skit.
Job Openings in Restorative Justice
These position descriptions are taken verbatim from announcements received by RJ Online editors in the past month.
