Restorative Justice Ideals and Realities

The legitimacy and performance of the traditional criminal justice system is the subject of intense scrutiny as the world economic crisis continues to put pressure on governments to cut the costs of the criminal justice system. This volume brings together the leading work on restorative justice to achieve two objectives: to construct a comprehensive and up-to-date conceptual framework for restorative justice suitable even for newcomers; and to challenge the barriers of restorative justice in the hope of taking its theory and practice a step further. The selected articles start by answering some fundamental questions about restorative justice regarding its historical and philosophical origins, and challenge the concept by bringing into the debate the human rights and equality discourses. Also included is material based on empirical testing of restorative justice claims especially those impacting on reoffending rates, victim satisfaction and reintegration. The volume concludes with a critique of restorative justice as well as with analytical thinking that aims to push its barriers. It is hoped that the investigations offered by this volume not only offer hope for a better system for abolitionists and reformists, but also new and convincing evidence to persuade the sceptics in the debate over restorative justice.

Part I: Restorative Justice: Origins, Nature and Promises: Conditions of successful reintegration ceremonies: dealing with juvenile offenders, John Braithwaite and Stephen Mugford; Conflicts as property, Nils Christie; Juvenile justice in New Zealand: a new paradigm, Allison Morris and Gabrielle M. Maxwell; Fundamental concepts of restorative justice, Howard Zehr and Harry Mika. Part II: Restorative Perspectives: Restorative justice - the real story, Kathleen Daly; Reconsidering restorative justice: the corruption of benevolence revisited?, Sharon Levrant, Francis T. Cullen, Betsy Fulton and John F. Wozniak; New wine and old wineskins: four challenges of restorative justice, Daniel W. Van Ness; Restorative police cautioning in Aylesbury ? from degrading to reintegrative shaming ceremonies?, Richard Young and Benjamin Goold. Part III: Juridical Perspectives: Responsibilities, rights and restorative justice, Andrew Ashworth; The use of mediation to resolve criminal cases: a procedural critique, Jennifer Gerarda Brown; Prosecuting violence: a colloquy on race, community and justice. Goodbye to Hammurabi: analyzing the atavistic appeal of restorative justice, Richard Delgado; Reparation and retribution: are they reconcilable?, Lucia Zedner. Part IV: Race and Gender Perspectives: A just measure of shame? Aboriginal youth and conferencing in Australia, Harry Blagg; Community conferencing and the fiction of indigenous control, Chris Cunneen; Domestic violence and the restorative justice initiatives: the risks of a New Panacea, Stephen Hooper and Ruth Busch; Restorative justice: the challenge of sexual and racial violence, Barbara Hudson. Part V: Social Justice Perspectives: Conservative conflict and the reproduction of capitalism: the role of informal justice, Richard L. Abel; Truth, reconciliation and justice: the South African experience in perspective, Kader Asmal; Youth development circles, John Braithwaite; Punishment and the changing face of the governance, Clifford Shearing; Name index

Declan Roche