5.2 Concept and Role of Restorative Justice

Restorative justice (RJ): the process where victim, offender, and community jointly address the harm's consequences and its future repair — justice as restoration rather than retribution alone. Core ideas: 1. Crime is a violation of people and relationships (not only of the state). 2. Justice must repair harms and rebuild where possible. 3. Dialogue and consent are the method — the victim's participation is voluntary, never forced; the offender's acknowledgement is the entry fee. 4. Outcomes: apology, restitution, service, and agreement — the reintegrative approach to offenders (shame rebuilt as responsibility — Braithwaite's idea, studied by name). RJ forms: victim-offender mediation; family group conferencing; circle processes; community panels; and truth-and-reconciliation commissions (RJ's macro form for mass victimization). Role in a victim justice system: RJ supplies what punishment cannot — the victim's answers (what happened, why), the offender's acknowledgement, and a repair plan — while the classic system supplies what RJ cannot — deterrence's public message and protection from the unwilling. The systems are complements, not rivals. The safeguards (RJ's dark side guarded): voluntariness; no pressure on victims to reconcile; power-imbalance screening (GBV cases need caution and specialist design); proportionality; and the serious-crimes line (mass atrocity's amnesty bar — the Suman Adhikari litigation's domain below).