The International Journal of Restorative Justice- more info here
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Environmental Justice: Restoring the Future. Towards a restorative environmental justice praxis – Edited by Emanuela Biffi & Brunilda Pali (European Forum for Restorative Justice, 2019)
Dowload here this booklet we published for celebrating the international RJ Week 2019! The booklet is a collection of articles written by researchers, practitioners, artists, activists interested and/or working on the intersections between environmental justice and RJ.
The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice: Black Lives, Healing, and US Social Transformation (Fania Davis, 2019)
This timely work will inform scholars and practitioners on the subjects of pervasive racial inequity and the healing offered by restorative justice practices. Addressing the intersectionality of race and the US criminal justice system, social activist Fania Davis explores how restorative justice has the capacity to disrupt patterns of mass incarceration through effective, equitable, and transformative approaches. Click here.
Restorative and Responsive Human Services (Edited by Gale Burford, John Braithwaite, Valerie Braithwaite, 2019)
The book brings together a distinguished collection providing rich lessons on how regulation in human services can proceed in empowering ways that heal and are respectful of human relationships and legal obligations. The human services are in trouble: combining restorative justice with responsive regulation might redeem them, renewing their well-intended principles. Families provide glue that connects complex systems. What are the challenges in scaling up relational practices that put families and primary groups at the core of health, education, and other social services? Click here.
Restoring Harm: A Psychosocial Approach to Victims and Restorative Justice (Daniela Bolivar, 2018)
The book analyses the restoration process from a psychosocial point of view and discusses the role of victim–offender mediation within such a process. It brings together literature from the fields of restorative justice, victimology and psychology, and shares original findings from victims who were interviewed in Belgium and Spain. Click here.
Critical Restorative Justice (Editors: Ivo Aertsen, Brunilda Pali, 2017)
The aim of this collection is to bridge the distance between restorative justice and the critical theory tradition. It, on the one hand, takes into account the limits of restorative justice as they have been articulated, or can be articulated through critical social theory, and on the other hand emphasises the ground-breaking potential that restorative justice can bring to this tradition as a way to address crimes, conflicts and injustices, and to pursue justice. Click here.
Restorative Imagination: Artistic Pathways. Ideas and experiences at the intersection between art and restorative justice- Edited by Emanuela Biffi & Brunilda Pali (2017)
Download here this booklet we published for celebrating the international RJ Week 2017! The booklet is a collection of articles written by researchers, practitioners, artists, activists, dreamers interested and/or working on the intersections between arts and RJ.
ALTERNATIVE project: two books!
The two books from the FP7 project ALTERNATIVE are published now: ‘Restoring Justice and Security in Intercultural Europe’ (edited by Brunilda Pali and Ivo Aertsen) and ‘Action Research in Criminal Justice’ (edited by Inge Vanfraechem and Ivo Aertsen). Contributions came from all partners in this 4-year project on RJ in intercultural settings.
Reimagining Restorative Justice: Agency and Accountability in the Criminal Process (O’Mahony David; Doak Jonathan 2017)
The book is a significant contribution to the confusing and over-complicated field of restorative justice theory. The authors use empowerment theory to bring conceptual and operational clarity to the concepts of agency and accountability in restorative processes and outcomes. As a result they develop a convincing argument for face to face dialogue between victim and perpetrator within the core of the criminal justice system. Their emphasis upon ethical and skillful practice is a welcome riposte to the rapid spread of ‘restorative justice lite’ driven by managerialism and the need to cut costs. Click here.
Restorative Responses to Sexual Violence: Legal, Social and Therapeutic Dimensions- Edited by Estelle Zinsstag, Marie Keenan (2017)
This international collection brings together leading expert scholars and practitioners to offer both theoretical and practical perspectives on restorative justice and sexual violence. This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of law, criminology, psychology, social science, social work and psychotherapy, as well as practitioners in the fields of criminal justice, restorative justice and sex offender and victim trauma therapies. This book resulted from the EU funded project coordinated by KU Leuven in 2013-2015, ‘Developing integrated responses to sexual violence: an interdisciplinary research project on the potential of restorative justice‘. You can download the practice guide for free from the EFRJ website.
IVOR Implementing victim-oriented reform of the criminal justice system in the European Union – Portuguese Association for Victim Support APAV, 2016)
The research report and additional material is available here. Among other topics, the implementations of the RJ-related articles of the Victims Directive in all MS are discussed.
Restorative Juvenile Justice: Snapshots in all EU-countries- International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO)
The research is composed of three volumes: Vol. I ‘Research and Selection of the Most Effective Juvenile Restorative Justice Practices in Europe: Snapshots from 28 EU Member States’ (Prof Frieder Dünkel, Dr Andrea Parosanu, and Dr Philip Horsfield), Vol. II ‘Protecting rights, Restoring respect and Strengthening Relationships: European Model for Restorative Justice with Children and Young People’ (Tim Chapman, Maija Gellin and Monique Anderson), Vol. III ‘Toolkit for Professionals: Implementing a European Model for Restorative Justice with Children and Young People’ (Tim Chapman, Maija Gellin and Monique Anderson), available in 6 European languages: English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish
Victims and Restorative Justice- Edited by Inge Vanfraechem (University of Leuven, Belgium), Daniela Bolívar Fernández (University of Chile) and Ivo Aertsen (University of Leuven, Belgium), 2015
Using a combination of victimological literature and empirical data from a European research project, this book considers the role and the position of the victim in restorative justice practices, focusing on legislative, organisational and institutional frameworks of victim-offender mediation and conferencing programmes at a national and local level, as well as the victims’ personal needs and experiences. The book “Victims and Restorative Justice” (2015) resulted from the EU funded project coordinated by the EFRJ in 2011-2012, “Victims and Restorative Justice: An empirical study of the needs, experiences and position of victims within restorative justice practices“.
Justice for Victims: Perspectives on rights, transition and reconciliation- Edited by Inge Vanfraechem (University of Leuven, Belgium), Antony Pemberton (Tilburg University, Netherlands) and Felix Mukwiza Ndahinda (Tilburg University, The Netherlands), 2014
This book brings together an international collection of exemplary scholars to offer a state-of-the art overview of the current study of victims of crime, combining both legal and social scientific perspectives and articulating both in bold new directions. The book, “Justice for Victims” (2014), resulted from the World Society of Victimology Symposium in the Hague (The Netherlands) in 2012.
Regulating Restorative Justice. A comparative study of legislative provision in European countries- Edied by Miers, D. and Aertsen, I. Frankfurt am Main, Verlag für Polizeiwissenschaft, 2012.
Many European countries have taken at least some steps towards incorporating restorative justice in their system, and this book assess how far some of them have gone in formalizing their progress in legislation. The countries represented are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, the United Kingdom, and two neighbours, Israel and Turkey. Read here the all review by Martin Wright.
Restorative justice realities: Research in a European context- Edited by Inge Vanfraechem, Ivo Aertsen and Jolien Willemsens. The Hague: Eleven Publishing, 2010 (ISBN 978-90-8974-361-9)
This book takes up the challenge to examine restorative justice research as it is undertaken in nine European countries during last twenty years. The book provides an overview of empirical research on victim-offender mediation and conferencing. The research deals with a variety of topics and many of the findings have never been published in English before. The book presents research approaches and results in various countries in order to enhance comparison and to allow further reflection on the possibilities and limits of undertaking European research in this field. This work is the result of the EU funded COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action A21 on ‘Restorative Justice Developments in Europe,’ and includes contributions by researchers with broad experience in the restorative justice field, supported by policy makers and practitioners. Read here the review by Martin Wright; you may order the book here.
Restoring justice after large-scale violent conflicts: Kosovo, DR Congo and the Israeli-Palestinian case- Edited by Aertsen, I., Arsovska, J., Rohne, H.-C., Valiñas, M. and Vanspauwen, K.. Cullompton, Willan Publishing, 2008.
This book provides a comparative analysis of the potential of restorative justice approaches to dealing with mass victimization in the context of large-scale violent conflicts focusing on case studies from Kosovo, Israel-Palestine and Congo, incorporating contributions from leading authorities in these areas. One of the main objectives of the book is to examine if, how and to what extent restorative justice is applicable in various different cultural, social and historical contexts, and what common themes can be identified within the different regions under analysis. The book will also provide a critical analysis of the UN Basic Principles on the use of restorative justice programmes in criminal matters as applied to the context of large scale violence. You can order the book here.
Images of Restorative Justice Theory- Edied by Mackay, R., Bošnjak, M., Deklerck, J., Pelikan, C., van Stokkom, B. and Wright, M. Frankfurt am Main, Verlag für Polizeiwissenschaft, 2007
This book is the product of serious work and discussions over four years in an international and multidisciplinary group funded by the COST Action A 21 ‘Restorative Justice Developments in Europe.’ It provides readers with contributions by experienced academics and researchers that deepen the understanding of restorative justice from the broad perspective of macro-theories down to a focus on micro dynamics in restorative justice procedures. The position of restorative justice vis-a-vis the law and criminal justice system is systematically analyzed and discussed. Ideas and positions from the Anglophone academic world are confronted or enriched with the contrasting traditions in political and sociological theory and legal reasoning of Continental Europe. All this makes this volume a novel contribution that will stimulate theoretical thinking and further enquiries and debates about restorative justice. You can order the book here.
Institutionalising Restorative Justice- Edited by I. Aertsen, T. Daems and L. Robert. Willan Publishing, 2006
This new book aims to explore the key issues and debates surrounding the question of the incorporation and institutionalisation of restorative justice within existing penal and criminal justice systems, an increasingly pressing issue given the rapid spread of restorative justice worldwide at both national and international levels. In doing so it aims to build bridges between those concerned with the practical institutionalisation of restorative justice on the one hand, and those engaged in more theoretical aspects of penal development and analysis on the other. It offers conceptual tools and a theoretical framework to help make sense of these developments, reflecting expertise drawn from analysis of developments in Europe, North America and Australasia. You can order the book here.
Mapping Restorative Justice: Developments in 25 European Countries, edited by David Miers and Jolien Willemsens for the European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice, Leuven, 2004 (ISBN 90-901-8752-9).
This up-to-date publication in the field of restorative justice gives a good overview of what really is happening in practice, legislation and policy, as well as what does research show on the evaluation of restorative justice programmes in Europe. Facts and figures on these and other topics are presented in a comparative way in this comprehensive review, which covers the developments in no less than 25 European countries. The book can be ordered directly from the Secretariat of the European Forum. The price is 15 Euro for members and 25 Euro for non-members (+ postal costs). Download the order form from here.
Rebuilding Community Connections – Mediation and Restorative Justice , written by Ivo Aertsen, Robert Mackay, Christa Pelikan, Martin Wright and Jolien Willemsens for the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, 2004 (ISBN 92-871-5450-3).
This book outlines the main features of restorative justice, including different models and research findings, and proposes guidelines for setting up programmes. It also identifies problems and ways of dealing with them. This guide provides essential information for those planning to introduce restorative justice in their country. For countries that have already done so, it offers an opportunity to review practice in the light of experiences and research elsewhere. The book can be ordered directly from Council of Europe Publishing, e-mail: [email protected]. It is also available in French under the title Renouer les liens sociaux – Médiation et justice réparatrice en Europe (ISBN (92-871-5451-1).
Meeting the challenges of introducing victim-offender mediation in Central and Eastern Europe , written by Borbala Fellegi, 2004.
This is the final report of the second AGIS project that was run by the EFRJ. It can be downloaded for free here.
Victim-Offender Mediation in Europe. Making Restorative Justice Work, edited by the European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice, Leuven, Leuven University Press, 2000.
This book brings together some of the papers that were presented at the 1999 conference of the European Forum. This book can be ordered via Amazon.com or via Cornell University Press.
In the first part of this book, victim-offender mediation and restorative justice are being considered from a more theoretical point of view. In his contribution, Martin Wright contends that there is no hard-and-fast division between measures that are restorative and those that are not. Rather there is a spectrum. He describes unilateral, democratic and authoritarian restorative justice as three points on this continuum. Jacques Faget approaches the difficulty of involving the community in criminal justice and mediation from a European perspective. He also describes two structural problems which limit the impact of community involvement, namely a spiral of professionalisation and a spiral of dependency. In Chapter 3, Robert Mackay addresses the topic of how to develop and maintain mediation practices which respect ethical principles, and which are of good quality for victims and offenders. At the end of his contribution, he proposes an outline of a statement of principles for a code of ethics in restorative justice. In his contribution, Marc Groenhuijsen argues that victim-offender mediation – as part of the criminal procedure and as a means of diversion – can be justified by the basic propositions of the philosophy of traditional criminal law and procedure. He also identifies several topics in need of special attention, for example, some specific needs of victims which have been neglected up till now. Siri Ilona Kemény describes the emergence of restorative justice in Norway, and identifies some future challenges. In Chapter 6, Elmar Weitekamp gives an overview of research findings in the field of restorative justice, and identifies what kind of research is needed in the future in order to improve victim-offender mediation and restorative justice.
The second part of the book consists of overviews of the state of affairs on victim-offender mediation in the eight countries in which it had developed the most up till then (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom). For these chapters, a multitude of information was collected in each of the countries, and this is presented and analysed in a comparable way. For each of these countries, following topics are being discussed: the history of victim-offender mediation in that particular country, the legal context, policy and implementation, the number of programmes and the way they function, the practice of mediation, the number and characteristics of cases, evaluation and research, and finally challenges, obstacles and expectations for the future. The gathering of information and data for these countries was concluded in the period August-September 1999. It is probably for the first time that such extensive reports on the practice of victim-offender mediation in Europe have been brought together in a comparative way.
