Informal Justice: Explorations Across the Globe

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

Informal justice can be a traditional source of justice, it can provide justice where formal systems are dysfunctional, but it also can take violent forms, as in self-help justice, or vigilantism. Informal justice in all its facets is more common in the global South, and has an important role for citizens seeking justice. This panel presents three different perspectives on informal justice. Two papers explore the usage of informal mechanisms, and where and when it takes precedence over formal justice mechanisms, and one paper analyses vigilantism as informal and self-help justice and its corollaries. The papers offer an integrative framework for analyzing informal justice within criminology.

Sub Unit

• Area X. Perceptions and Responses to Crime and Justice / 53. Perceptions of Justice and Legal Marginalization

Individual Presentations

• Traditional Justice in Informal Urban Settlements in Accra, Ghana - Amy Nivette, Griffith University; Thomas Akoensi, University of Kent

• Understanding the Users of Informal Justice in a Developing Country - Mahvish Shami, London School of Economics, International Development; Amy Nivette, Griffith University

• Violent Vigilantism in South Africa - Susanne Karstedt, Griffith University; Amy Nivette, Griffith University

Chair

• Susanne Karstedt, Griffith University

Discussant

• Justice Tankebe, University of Cambridge