Global Perspectives on Restorative Justice: Institutionalisation, Challenges, and Comparative Insights from Editors of the International Encyclopaedia of Restorative Justice

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

Restorative justice has become an international movement, endorsed by official institutions at both international and national levels. However, with increasing institutionalisation, advocates warn of the risk of co-option and potential dilution of its original intentions. Moreover, the implementation of restorative justice varies significantly across countries. Despite a growing body of theoretical and empirical research, there remains no comprehensive overview of restorative justice developments and implementation, let alone a comprehensive understanding of its global development and implementation. Many countries have fragmented restorative justice landscapes, with little or no national data recorded on a regular basis. At the international level, comparative studies remain scarce, making it difficult to gain a reliable understanding of how restorative justice has emerged and evolved, the historical, cultural, and political influences shaping its development, and the extent to which theory and practice have interacted. Additionally, there is limited insight into how restorative justice contributes to normative shifts in society and reimagines justice mechanisms and systems. The International Encyclopaedia of Restorative Justice (Publisher De Gruyter Brill) seeks to consolidate and systematise knowledge of past and ongoing developments at national levels in the most reliable and comprehensive manner possible. It undertakes this study in a comparative way, comprising six regional volumes: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania. Each volume includes jurisdiction-based chapters and thematic chapters that deepen the understanding of key issues shaping restorative justice in each region.

Subtopic

• Topic 5: Social Control and Criminal Justice / Restorative Justice (Restorative Justice WG)

Chair

• Fernanda Fonseca Rosenblatt, Catholic University of Pernambuco (UNICAP)/International Institute of Restorative Practices (IIRP)

Discussants

• Mara Schiff, Florida Atlantic University

• Thalia González, UC Law SF

• Razwana Begum, Singapore University of Social Sciences

• Daniela Bolivar Fernandez, P. Universidad Católica de Chile