CriticalRestorativeJustice.com

Restorative justice is a magmatic field. Much is written or done, sometimes in new and even original ways, constantly. This section highlights some of the mobile frontiers of this changing field

Pali, B., Forsyth, M., Tepper, F. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Environmental Restorative Justice. Palgrave Macmillan

Excerpt

‘Provides a shared language & actionable principles to restoring existing environmental harm & preventing harm. Draws on practice & policy, criminal law & human rights, victimology & criminology, economics & political science. Discusses how to incorporate the voice of future generations and nature in processes of justice and repair’

Commentary

A pioneering and comprehensive handbook on an application of restorative justice which deserves attention. Environmental harms and conflicts are possibly a context wherein restorative justice may produce important results, with a significant social impact. Other relevant resources in this specific field are:

• Stark, A. (2016). Environmental restorative justice. Pepp. Disp. Resol. LJ, 16, 435.
• Nadeem, M. (2021). Corporate governance and supplemental environmental projects: A restorative justice approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 173(2), 261-280.
• Motupalli, C. (2018). International justice, environmental law, and restorative justice. Wash. J. Envtl. L. & Pol’y, 8, 333.
• Minguet, A. (2021). Environmental justice movements and restorative justice. The International Journal of Restorative Justice, 4(1), 60-80.
• White, R. (2014). Indigenous communities, environmental protection and restorative justice. Australian Indigenous Law Review, 18(2), 43-54.

Baldwin, J. M., & Rukus, J. (2015). Healing the wounds: An examination of veterans treatment courts in the context of restorative justice. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 26(2), 183-207.

Abstract

‘Controversy exists regarding whether specialized courts, specifically drug courts, adhere to the restorative justice model. Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) are the newest programmatic innovation in the specialized court arena and have not been widely studied to date. This study utilizes data from the first in-depth case study of a VTC and explores whether it embodies the restorative justice ideal. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, we find that the VTC does not fully embody the restorative justice agenda, but it adheres closer to the ideal than drug courts.‘

Commentary

A stimulating reading on a niche yet innovative application of restorative justice in the context of specialised – veteran treatment – courts.

Irazábal, C. (2018). Counter land-grabbing by the precariat: Housing movements and restorative justice in Brazil. Urban Science, 2(2), 49.

Abstract

‘Social housing movements in Brazil, whose majority members are part of Brazil’s precariat or lowest-income class, are courageously pressing for true urban reform in Brazil, whose old promise has been systematically delayed and subverted, even by some of those who were put in power to realize it. By occupying vacant and underutilized land and buildings, not only are these movements confronting neoliberalism in Brazil at a time of the model’s highest level of hegemony in the country and the world, they are also unveiling the impossibility of the system to deliver sociospatial justice to the poor and are enacting an alternative. Through restorative justice practices, they go beyond critique and press for an alternate sociopolitical project that would allow millions of people in Brazil access to decent housing, and through it, to a myriad of other opportunities, including the right to the city. As shown in the experiences of those participating in housing struggles, restorative justice deserves further exploration as an alternative planning mode that can combine the strengths of advocacy planning and communicative action while reducing their drawbacks. These reflections focus on the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sen Teto (MTST) and partially feed from team ethnographic and planning studio work on several building and land occupations in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in Brazil in 2016. ‘

Commentary

A rather unique application of restorative justice in housing struggles in Brazil

Traguetto, J., & Guimaraes, T. D. A. (2020). Therapeutic jurisprudence and restorative justice in Brazil. International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 64(6-7), 654-673.

Abstract

‘The Brazilian prison population in 2016 had increased by more than 700%, compared with the situation in the early 1990s, from 90 thousand to 726.7 thousand. The ordinary response to prison overcrowding came through changes to the justice system, such as Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Restorative Justice. Although these new processes are socially relevant, there are few studies about them anywhere, but especially in Brazil. This study seeks to discuss the perceptions of Brazilian judges upon these new ways of dispensing justice from the perspective of institutional change theory. The data collection involved document analysis, court-hearing observations, and interviews with 14 key-actors in the Brazilian justice system. The results show four dimensions—beliefs, motivations, commitment, and intergroup relations—that characterize the roles played by Brazilian judges working with Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Restorative Justice. This movement can be classified as the modal type of institutional change called layering and “radical” frame blending.’

Commentary

An original reflection on the relation between restorative justice and therapeutic jurisprudence practices, looking for inter-contaminations.

Velez, G. and Gavrielides, T. (2022) Restorative Justice: Promoting Peace and Wellbeing. Springer

Excerpt

‘Illuminates the connection between peace psychology and restorative justices Demonstrates the importance of psychological theory in restorative practices Emphasizes the elements of dialogue and the role of restorative justice values for achieving peace’

Commentary

A rich and interesting edited collection including contributions from international scholars and practitioners on the links between restorative justice and peace psychology

Wood, W. & Suzuki, M. (2016) Four Challenges in the Future of Restorative Justice, Victims & Offenders, 11:1, 149-172

Abstract

‘Restorative justice (RJ) emerged in the late 1970s as an alternative to conventional youth and criminal justice practices. Since this time, RJ has experienced rapid growth in theory and practice. At the same time, much of this growth has come from expansion in lower-end criminal justice responses to crime, and in the increasing use of the term “restorative” for a widening host of practices and interventions. RJ has also faced problems related to its increasing institutionalization, resulting in divergence from earlier aims and goals. In this article, we set forth what we see as the four biggest challenges facing the future of RJ, namely problems related to definition, institutionalization, displacement, and relevance of RJ practices. We follow with discussion of possible future directions of RJ.‘

Commentary

A perceptive reflection on some of the challenges restorative justice is set to face in the imminent future. Though focussing on a very limited range of emerging issues, it does offer an overview on some of the most pressing challenges for the restorative justice movement.

Yea, S., Stringer, C. & Rao, S. (2022) Restorative Justice in Cases of Seafood Slavery, Journal of Human Trafficking, DOI: 10.1080/23322705.2022.2128597

Abstract

‘Advocates of restorative justice have argued that conventional approaches to criminal justice primarily through state-provisioned punishment neither meet the needs of victims nor significantly deter offenders. To date, limited academic research has been conducted on restorative justice in human trafficking cases. Therefore, in this study, we examine the extent to which restorative justice is being applied to victims in cases of seafood slavery, drawing from two registers of restorative justice for the analysis: participation and amends. We used data from an ongoing human trafficking study in the Asia–Pacific’s distant waters fisheries sector, and we discussed the Giant Ocean case and the Trinidad and Tobago case that were prosecuted in Cambodia and Indonesia, respectively. We found limited evidence that victims participated meaningfully in any way in their respective legal cases, and we observed several deficiencies in delivering amends, especially regarding compensation for victims in both cases. This paper concludes with recommendations for government and non-government anti-trafficking stakeholders to better facilitate opportunities that enable victims to pursue restorative justice processes.’

Commentary

Restorative justice for human trafficking cases is a practically under-used and theoretically under-studied area. This paper breaks new ground exploring the pitfalls and potential of restorative justice looking at specific case studies.

Katterl, S. (2022) Preventing and responding to harm: Restorative and responsive mental health regulation in Victoria, Australian Journal of Social Issues, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.242

Abstract

‘Mental health systems are built on imperfect foundations. Rather than reflect the “dark old days” of psychiatry, mental health systems, still, commit wide-spread breaches of mental health and human rights laws. During such time, mental health regulators have failed to adequately enforce mental health laws and respond to harms in ways that are transparent and include the community. The Victorian mental health system, with the Mental Health Complaints Commissioner as the principal regulator, provides a case-in-point. Following a Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, the state government will dissolve the current regulator and establish a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission, with enhanced powers. This paper argues that this new regulator should adopt a more conscious implementation of restorative justice and responsive regulation, termed here restorative and responsive regulation. Of particular value is the use of restorative practices such as conferences and an augmenting of sentencing circles within a broader responsive regulatory framework.’

Commentary

A recent study advocating for structural changes in the overseeing of mental health services in Australia, using restorative justice as a responsive regulatory tool

Lokanan, M. (2023). Restorative Justice: Application to Corporate Fraud. In New Approaches to CSR, Sustainability and Accountability, Volume IV (pp. 137-162). Springer.

Abstract

‘The paper argues for a restorative justice approach to corporate fraud. Drawing from the restorative justice and crime control literature, the paper argues that given the nature of corporate fraud and the stakeholders affected, restorative justice can have an impact in disciplining corporate offenders. Restorative justice is a different framework from criminal justice or regulatory proceedings. A restorative approach to justice sees crime as involving all the stakeholders affected by the offender’s action. In the aftermath of a crime, the victim, offender, community, and authorities meet to discuss how the offenses affected the lives of the victims and neutralize its collective impact. The fundamental postulate of restorative justice is to promote healing and rehabilitation for the victim, offender, and all other stakeholders affected by the crime. While restorative justice is widely used in addressing street crimes, little effort has been made to link its applicability to corporate crime.’

Commentary

A recent paper on a field of application still underexplored. The author provides informative and interesting insights into the what, how and why restorative justice could be an effective and fair response to corporate fraud.

Lavanchy, A. (2022). Restorative Justice in roads policing. The Police Journal, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X221143929

Abstract

‘With advocates for Restorative Justice arguing that punitive punishments through prosecution alone do little to prevent offending, it must be examined why restorative practices are not more frequently used to tackle road-related harm. In Roads Policing, the victim rarely has an opportunity to take part in the rehabilitation of an offender for their specific offence. Educational courses currently exist for offenders that cause low-level harm (or potential harm) on the roads, yet there appears to be no voice for the specific victim; instead, they must rely on an offender being deterred from future offending by general education or enforcement.’

Commentary

Restorative justice for road accidents and crimes is still a relatively underdeveloped area, though in the last decades a number of programs including harms related to such contexts have been developed, often using vicarious victims. This article is useful for it critically assesses supposedly ‘restorative’ programs which simply propose educational activities for ‘road offenders’, arguing for the necessity of including the person harmed.

Toews, B. (2023). Prioritizing Accountability and Reparations: Restorative Justice Design and Infrastructure. In: Moran, D., Jewkes, Y., Blount-Hill, KL., St. John, V. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Design. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11972-9_25

Abstract

‘Restorative justice is a theoretical approach to criminal justice that seeks to identify the harms and needs experienced by victims, hold offenders meaningfully accountable for the repair of those harms, and address personal, interpersonal, and social causes of crime. The values guiding this process are ones of interconnectedness, respect, healing and transformation, engagement, and a non-hierarchical stance. Research across disciplines offers guidance on emerging design principles of a restorative justice-informed design that prioritizes the goals and values of restorative justice. Such design challenges the punitive foundation of incarceration, thus making the idea of a restoratively designed custodial facility impossible. Rather, restorative justice design asks us to remove the design and construction of custodial facilities from the design table and shift our attention toward the design and construction of a constellation of spaces that address survivors’ needs, facilitate meaningful accountability on the part of offenders, and support structural foundations for social justice. Restorative justice-informed design asks what kind of society we want, not what kind of prison we want, clearing the path for decarceration.’

Commentary

A very interesting chapter on ‘restorative design’ which does not simply applies some ‘restorative’ way of thinking to the organisation of prison spaces, but instead uses a certain understanding of restorative justice as a perspective to rethink the broad organisation of social environments.