Restorative Justice
Approaches that repair harm through encounter and reparation rather than pure punishment
Overview
Restorative justice convenes victims, offenders, and communities to confront harm, agree reparation, and reintegrate, with New Zealand's family group conferences for youth and post conflict truth commissions its largest applications. Evidence shows meaningful reductions in reoffending for participants and high victim satisfaction where done well. It draws on indigenous traditions worldwide, including Maori practice shaping the New Zealand model. It complements rather than replaces ordinary courts in most systems. Programs report savings per case compared with prison, though implementation quality varies widely.
Related Topics
Geneva Conventions
The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 protect the wounded and sick on land and at sea, prisoners of war, and civilians under occupat...
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Drafted after World War II by a committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt and adopted in Paris in December 1948, the declaration set ...
Nuremberg Principles
The 1945 to 1946 trial of the major Nazi organizations affirmed that individuals, including heads of state, bear criminal responsi...
Rome Statute
Adopted in Rome in 1998 by 120 states and in force in 2002, the statute created the first permanent international criminal court w...