Introduction to the Section on Restorative Justice (OJLR—Jan 2016)

Abstract

The origin of this interdisciplinary collection of articles was a symposium held in June 2014, hosted by Regent’s Park College, Oxford when experts from across continents and from different disciplines came together to share insights on the nature of forgiveness and its place in restorative justice. Those present included criminologists, lawyers, theologians, philosophers, political and social scientists, restorative justice practitioners, and specialists in civil society. Papers and discussion ranged widely, spanning UK and international contexts, restorative justice in criminal justice and peace-building processes, theory, and practice. The dialogue reflected how the place of forgiveness in restorative justice is strongly contested by both theorists and practitioners. Although some contend that forgiveness needs to be integral for the outcomes of restorative justice to be fully restorative, others see forgiveness as an ‘emergent’ value: a helpful by-product that may be fostered through restorative justice but is not essential to it. Others recoil from any suggestion that restorative justice should be associated with forgiveness, seeing this as an unwarranted and potentially dangerous infringement of participants’ autonomy: an attempt to impose external and illegitimate expectations on a process that belongs to participants.