Restorative justice

Restorative justice

“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
MLK

Restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, as well as the involved community. This contrasts to retributive justice, a punitive approaches where the main aim is to punish the wrongdoer, or satisfy abstract legal principles. Denise Curtis, summarising the difference with the law-based system favoured by nation states says that “restorative justice is a different approach to crime. . . . Our current justice system asks: What law was broken? Who broke it? and How should they be punished? Restorative justice asks: Who has been harmed? What needs have arisen because of the harm? and Whose responsibility is it to make things as right as they can?”

Effectiveness in US schools

Research has indicated that Restorative Justice is effective at reducing violence (in various instances by 75-90% percent) and in increasing graduation rates and test scores rose. This contrasts sharply with US police expectations - they "predicted chaos".

Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Full article: Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions are an effort to pursue restorative justice on a large scale in society. Two notable recent examples have been the Truth commissions in South Africa after apartheid and in Peru after the kleptocracy of Alberto Fujimori.

 

An example

Page name	Description
Truth and Reconciliation Commission	A Truth Commission established in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid intended to pursue restorative justice. One thing it did not do, was to follow up on foreign operation and covert help from allied countries.

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