Restorative Justice

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Restorative Justice (English: to restore : Restore; justice : justice, justice ) is also used outside the Anglo-Saxon language area name for a form of conflict transformation through a redress process. It can be an alternative to current judicial criminal proceedings or social initiatives outside the state system.

Restorative justice brings those directly involved (injured party, accused) and sometimes the community together in a search for solutions. The aim is to make amends for material and immaterial damage and to restore positive social relationships. The movement towards restorative justice comes from different philosophical directions and motivations: from the desire to strengthen the role of the injured party in proceedings, to the search for human alternatives to punishment , to the endeavor to reduce costs and workload in the conventional justice system and to increase effectiveness . Restorative justice practices can be found in the traditions of many cultures, e.g. B. in indigenous cultures of New Zealand, North America or Hawaii. Most legal systems in western countries now also contain elements of restorative justice, such as the settlement of offenses in Austria or the offender-victim settlement in Germany.

history

For thousands of years there have been provisions on reparation , in some cases also on understanding and healing social relationships, in the legal systems of various regions of the world.

The Māori in Aotearoa / New Zealand, for example, the residents of Australia and Hawaii had very elaborate systems of restorative justice. In several North American communities there was (and still is) the tradition of councils, councils, and speeches, which also had a strong influence on the strengthening of the restorative justice movement in Canada and the USA. The Sumerian Codex Ur-Nammu (approx. 2100 BC) and the Babylonian Codex Hammurabi (approx. 1700 BC) contained regulations on damages and reparations for various offenses. The old Irish Brehon Laws contain very extensive regulations on compensation payments and care services in the event of bodily harm. The laws under the Frankish King Clovis I (around 500 AD) and the English Ethelbert of Kent (around 600 AD) also contained provisions on the reparation of offenses. Only during the Middle Ages legal systems began in Europe increasingly spread that on retaliation are constructed, and the offense is not understood as a violation of the rights of victims, but as a violation of an abstract legal principle that as the representative of state occurs. In the recent past, especially since the middle of the 20th century, there have been increased efforts in Europe and North America to revive the principle of restorative justice and to anchor it in the state legal systems. This was often done first in smaller projects and trial studies, before it came to a fixed legal anchoring and an incipient expansion of the area of ​​application.

Basic elements and goals

The UN resolution on restorative justice from 2002 builds on a recommendation of the Council of Europe from 1999, in which it emphasizes mediation in criminal matters as a flexible, comprehensive, solution-oriented, participatory supplement or alternative to classic criminal proceedings. The following aspects are particularly emphasized:

  • the active role that both the injured party and the accused can play in the proceedings
  • the possibility of involving the community (e.g. relatives, affected neighbors)
  • strengthening the role of the injured party and their needs , such as apology or material reparation
  • promoting the assumption of responsibility by the polluters, in words and deeds, which can also improve the basis for later reintegration into the social fabric.

The essential elements of restorative justice can also be presented as follows:

The perception and handling of events in their social context, that is, in their relational contexts and with their emotional references; d. H. not just as an abstract "criminal offense". This is particularly intended to enable the injured party to make their emotional as well as their material needs heard.

The active participation of the parties concerned; No assignment of the active role to authorities who make decisions without a say or consent of those directly affected. The voluntary participation on all sides is an important condition.

Compensating for the suffering or harm inflicted on someone through acts and services that benefit those people. Instead of additional suffering for the perpetrators, there should be reparation for the victims .

In practice, restorative justice programs take many different forms, each of which realizes the principles mentioned in different ways and with different degrees of strength.

Forms of restorative justice in the judicial context

Restorative justice programs in the context of justice systems come in many different forms. Among other things, they can be classified according to the criteria listed below.

Topics covered

  • Minor Offenses: Many restorative justice programs in Europe and North America have started with minor offenses, such as property damage or minor assault . Even today, serious crimes, such as murder and other homicides , are often excluded from restorative justice programs.

Participants in the proceedings

  • Two-party mediation

Programs such as the reconciliation of offenses in Austria or the perpetrator-victim compensation in Germany only bring those directly injured and those directly suspected of the crime together in a mediation process.

  • Conferencing and Circles

Restorative justice approaches by many indigenous communities, and also the legal situation in Australia and New Zealand , involve more than just two parties in the process . These can be neighbors who z. B. feel insecure about a break-in; Parents and friends of young offenders; Support persons of those directly affected; other persons and institutions important for the event and the future legal peace (in some cases e.g. the youth welfare office, or police officers)

  • Moderation by volunteers or by specialized full-time employees

In some countries, the restorative justice process is moderated by full-time employees with a long, compulsory training (e.g. Austria), in others by volunteers who come from a similar social and cultural environment as the parties and who have a good feel for should bring the situation and the people involved. The parties' trust is sought more at eye level from “people like you and me” than via “expert status”. After a relatively short training period, this system mainly offers accompanying supervision and opportunities for reflection. An example of this would be Finland.

Institutional context and timing of the procedure

Restorative justice programs can be designed as an alternative to criminal proceedings, e.g. B. in Austria: Mediation proceedings are offered here after charges have been brought. If this is successful, the prosecution is stopped; if the mediation is unsuccessful, the judicial criminal proceedings will expire.

  • In addition to punishment: in prison, before release

Restorative justice programs can also be used after a criminal conviction, e.g. B. in jail or before release. Voluntary encounters between convicts and injured parties should help them to come to terms with what happened in the past to the extent that they can continue to live and focus on the future. The condemned are given new opportunities to actively assume responsibility ; the injured party has further options for reducing material and immaterial damage. Any fears associated with the discharge can also be alleviated. There are examples of this in the USA. Sometimes such processes are taken beyond the legal system, on the initiative of the people concerned.

Restorative Justice as a Social Conflict Transformation Model

There are also restorative justice practices outside and independent of the state justice system, either as a continuation of existing traditions or as new initiatives by individuals or groups. Both can be done completely informally or in a formalized form. These initiatives aim to establish a peace-building instrument for socio-political, religious, cultural, ethnic or domestic conflicts.

Sometimes such initiatives have a broad impact through multiplication (e.g. peer mediation programs, which are then similar in many schools), sometimes they trigger a change in the state legal system.

In order to be classified as restorative justice, these practices must conform to the principles of participation , empowerment and assumption of responsibility . The reparation of material and immaterial damage must be of central importance. How far this succeeds and how far there is simply a threat of an unhelpful reproduction of informal power structures should be carefully considered in the respective context.

As a goal, restorative justice can be seen as a way of building competencies in society: instead of repeatedly experiencing that incapacitation by a higher authority occurs in conflicts, conflicts can be dealt with independently and constructively.

Traditions and Community Practices

Mediation, community circles and group counseling processes have a tradition in many regions of the world and continue to exist alongside the state legal system. More pronounced forms such as communities in Canada are partially taken into account in the state legal system. There is also a tradition of informal mediation in Europe (through relatives, friends, respected mutual acquaintances, etc.). At the same time - often inspired by these traditions - new forms are being developed, e.g. B. Restorative Circles , which began as an initiative of an individual in the favelas of Brazil, can now be found in different Brazilian contexts, and also by exercise groups and the like. a. be taken up in Germany.

Programs to institutions

Some restorative justice programs are part of existing institutions : they are e.g. B. initiated in schools in order to deal with conflicts between young people or between teachers and children in a constructive way. The implementation of restorative justice programs in schools has multiplied since the mid-1990s. These are used in both a proactive and reactive form, with the programs closely related to promoting social and emotional skills. The relevance of the application in schools is justified, among other things, by the fact that the social constellations in schools represent, so to speak, a miniature representation of society and that the younger generation will shape future social development. The central values ​​of the Restorative Justice Programs in schools were defined by the Restorative Justice Consortium as follows: firstly, the possibility of meeting or participating in a dialogue, secondly the element of reparation and apology, thirdly enabling reintegration and fourthly, the highest possible Degree of involvement. A large number of empirical studies show that there is a tendency towards fundamental changes with regard to the behavior and attitudes of the young people involved. In the evaluation of a mediation program at schools in Denmark, for example, it says that they act much less destructively and that they can experience a process of self-empowerment.

Services such as mediation centers are also often institutionalized in residential complexes or neighborhoods with a high potential for conflict among residents. In Vienna, for example, the institution Wohnpartner - Das Neighborhood Service in Viennese municipal housing can be mentioned. Wohnpartner says it supports tenants in neighborhood conflicts and aims to strengthen cooperation in municipal housing in Vienna and to promote dialogue.

Individual initiatives

Individuals too often take the initiative in practices that can be seen as restorative justice; z. B. The bereaved of murder victims who want to meet the perpetrator in order to be able to deal with what happened and to find a way into their future life for themselves. The English association "The Forgiveness Project" allows such people to have their say - on its website and in exhibitions. An example from the South African context is that of a young American woman, Amy Biehl. She had campaigned for peaceful change during the South African transition phase and was murdered in 1993 as a result of violent unrest in a township near Cape Town. Four young men were sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for the crime, who applied for amnesty as part of the activities of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Amy Biehl's parents also took part in the hearings and approved the motion, which was then granted. As a contribution to the new South Africa, the parents founded the NPO Amy Biehl Foundation in 1997, which organizes a series of culturally and socially empowering courses for children and young people in the townships of Cape Town.

Another example is the story of Kathleen Pequeño, told in the documentary "To Germany, With Love" (original title "The Worst Thing"). In 1985 Kathleen Pequeño lost her brother Edward "Eddie" Pimental, a Mexican-American soldier, in an attack by the Red Army Faction (RAF) in Wiesbaden. Years later, unsatisfied with the formal legal treatment of offenders and victims, she sought contact with those responsible for her brother's death, such as B. to the then RAF terrorist Birgit Hogefeld, as well as to other former RAF members in Germany to talk to them about the consequences of this violent death. In doing so, she trusts the methods of restorative justice, i.e. a search for justice, dialogue and healing that heals wounds. During these talks she was accompanied by Annett Zupke from the Institute for Restorative Practices as a dialogue facilitator.

Success Criteria and Results

Studies in various Western countries have shown that the participants in a restorative justice process relapse less often , i. H. were again offenses as people with comparable offenses, which are convicted and punished by the court. The success rates of the restorative justice programs were often much better. However, it cannot be said whether part of this difference arises from the fact that perhaps especially those who would not otherwise have relapsed agree to participate (yes, voluntarily) in a restorative justice program. In any case, there is no reverse tendency (that recidivism would increase through restorative justice).

In addition to the relapse rates , the satisfaction of those involved, especially the injured party, can be used as a success criterion, as well as the extent to which they have actually received reparations or damages. Meta-studies also confirm that restorative justice programs are more successful in these two areas. The willingness of both the injured and the accused to participate in restorative justice proceedings instead of criminal proceedings is also often very high. How far the general competence of society is strengthened by restorative justice to deal constructively with conflicts, to repair damage and to develop functional relationships for the future can hardly be quantified.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Explanatory memorandum of the Recommendation No. R (99) 19, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on September 15, 1999, entitled "Mediation in Penal Matters", pp. 11-12.
  2. Explanatory memorandum of the Recommendation No. R (99) 19, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on September 15, 1999, entitled "Mediation in Penal Matters", p.15.
  3. UN Economic and Social Council (2002): ECOSOC Resolution 2002/12: “Basic principles on the use of restorative justice programs in criminal matters”, http://www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/2002/resolution % 202002-12.pdf
  4. Recommendation No. R (99) 19, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 15 September 1999, entitled "Mediation in Penal Matters"
  5. Christa Pelikan, Euro Europe expert and member of the Austrian Institute for Legal and Criminal Sociology: Christa Pelikan (2010): What is Restorative Justice ?, in: Must be punishment? - Sustainable Austria No. 51, Sept. 2010, p. 4ff. http://www.nachhaltig.at/zeitung_archiv.htm#SusA52 Brunilda Pali and Christa Pelikan (2010): Building Social Support for Restorative Justice, Final Project Report, European Forum for Restorative Justice, Leuven, p. 11-12. http://www.euforumrj.org/Projects/Final%20Report%20BSS.pdf  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.euforumrj.org  
  6. ^ Vi Explanatory memorandum of the Recommendation No. R (99) 19, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on September 15, 1999, entitled "Mediation in Penal Matters", p.15.
  7. eg Jo Berry and Pat McGee: Archived copy ( memento of the original from February 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.buildingbridgesforpeace.org
  8. http://www.restorativecircles.org/ .
  9. ^ Morrison, Brenda (2007). Schools and restorative justice, in: Gerry Johnstone / Daniel W. Van Ness (Ed.): Handbook of Restorative Justice. Portland, p. 325 ff
  10. Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.euforumrj.org
  11. http://www.wohnpartner-wien.at
  12. z. B. http://theforgivenessproject.com , the German-language exhibition can be borrowed from the Institute for Restorative Practices
  13. http://www.amybiehl.co.za
  14. ^ Miers / Willemsens (2004): Mapping Restorative Justice, p. 85; Latimer / Dowden / Muise (2005): The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practices, p. 137; and numerous individual studies, s. for example under "recidivism" at www.restorativejustice.org/research
  15. Latimer, Jeff and Dowden, Craig and Muise, Danielle (2005). The Effectiveness of Restorative Justice Practices: A Meta-Analysis, Department of Justice, Canada, p. 136ff online (PDF), and Miers p. 85
  16. see e.g. B. with the introduction of compensation for offenses in Austria