The new international restorative justice framework: reviewing three years of progress and efforts to promote access to services and cultural change

Abstract

The years 2018-2020 saw a number of new international legal instruments and guidelines relating to restorative justice. In 2018, a landmark Recommendation adopted by the Council of Europe and a Resolution by the Organization of American States encouraged its use in their regions. In 2019, the Milquet Report proposed amending a European Union Directive to promote restorative justice as a diversion from court, while in 2020, the European Union adopted a new Victims' Strategy, and the United Nations published a revised Handbook on Restorative Justice Programmes. This article identifies and analyses the principal developments in this new international framework. It demonstrates the growing consensus on the potential applicability of restorative justice for all types of offences, and the emerging recognition that restorative justice should aim to satisfy the needs of all participants. It also explores statements endorsing the use of restorative justice beyond the criminal procedure and advising criminal justice institutions to utilise restorative principles to inform cultural change. The paper concludes that implementing international policies domestically requires justice reform advocates to build strong, trusting relationships, and organise inclusive partnerships, with all those who hold a stake in the development of restorative justice.

Restorative Justice, Youth Violence, and Policing: A Review of the Evidence

“…At the international level, an increasing number of countries are adopting various restorative principles into their criminal justice systems and into the mechanisms working with young people (Pali and Maglione 2021;Roach 2013;Ali Al-Hassani 2021;Zhang and Xia 2021). In Europe, this has taken the form of increasingly direct language over the integration of restorative justice into policy (Marder 2020b) Taken together it is clear that, whilst not without delivery considerations, restorative justice and restorative practices can offer valuable tools to those seeking to support young people at risk of, or dealing with the consequences of, violence. We recognise that, in the context of violence and young people effective restorative justice police practice should embrace a whole-system approach that incorporates multi-agency working and consistently engages with young people at risk of, having undertaken, or having been victims of, violent crimes.…”

“…Restorative practices are increasingly being implemented globally, with a growing emphasis on greater use within criminal justice (Marder 2020b;Pali and Maglione 2021). These span a range of different criminal justice systems, for instance Canada, (Roach 2013), Iraq (Ali Al-Hassani 2021), and China, (Zhang and Xia 2021).…”

“…Both restorative justice and restorative practice are becoming increasingly established and evidence-based elements of the criminal justice system in the UK. Ranging from work in policing (Marder 2020b;Shapland et al 2017), in probation (Kirkwood and Hamad 2019), in prisons (Dhami et al 2009;Calkin 2021), in youth offending teams (Criminal Justice Joint Inspection 2012), as well as in other parts of the institutional context such as in forensic mental health settings (Cook et al 2015), social work, and social care (Parkinson et al 2018). Outside of the formal criminal justice setting, there are also a wide range of community-based schemes that engage with specific groups, particularly young people, to help address problem/offending behaviours (Eriksson 2009).…”

Challenges in the Future of Restorative Youth Justice in Ireland: Minimising Intervention, Maximising Participation

“…First, it is indicative of an interpretation of restorative justice that is dialogic and procedural, but that is focused on an offender (the causes of the offending and their future behaviour), as opposed to articulating an equal focus on victims’ needs. Recent international guidelines promote the idea of restorative justice as a process that does not prioritise the needs of one party over those of the other (Council of Europe, 2018; Marder, 2020b). Whether this is concordant with children’s rights, however, may be questioned.…”

‘Spaces’ for restorative development: international case studies on restorative services

“…This inclusion of restorative justice and restorative practice at the policy level is taking place in diverse countries around the world, including in Canada, (Roach, 2012), Iraq (Al Hasani, 2021), China, (Zhang and Xia, 2021), and across Europe. In the case of the latter, restorative justice in particular has featured in a range of recent policy announcements that grew from the initial discussion of restorative justice as beneficial in the EU's 2012 Victims' Rights Directive (Directive 2012/29/EU), to include: the Council of Europe's 2018 recommendation to 'develop and use restorative justice with respect to their criminal justice systems' (Council of Europe, 2019); the European Commission's 2020-25 EU-wide Strategy on victims' rights (2020 -2025) that recognised a role for Restorative justice in helping to empower victims of crime; and the 2021 Venice Declaration on the Role of Restorative Justice in Criminal Matters (Marder, 2020b).…”