Handbook on Restorative justice programmes

HANDBOOK ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMMES
Process values
앫 Participation and empowerment
of participants
앫 Respect for all participants 
앫 Preference for consensual 
outcomes over imposed ones
앫 Commitment of parties to
agreement reached through 
the process
앫 Flexibility and responsiveness of
process and outcomes
앫 Community empowerment

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various forms of restorative justice. The process is characterized by
respectful treatment of all parties. It is also one that promotes the par-
ticipation and, to a varying extent, the empowerment of all parties con-
cerned. It functions best when it remains clear and predictable, yet
flexible and responsive to the individual circumstances of each case. It
favours consensual outcomes over imposed ones and it is concerned
with eliciting a genuine commitment from the parties to live up to the
agreement that they have articulated. 
Process goals include the following:
앫 Victims who agree to be involved in the process can do so safely
and come out of it satisfied;
앫 Offenders understand how their action has affected the victim and
other people, assume responsibility for the consequences of their
action and commit to making reparation;
앫 Flexible measures are agreed upon by the parties which emphasize
repairing the harm done and, wherever possible, also address the
reasons for the offence;
앫 Offenders live up to their commitment to repair the harm done and
attempt to address the factors that led to their behaviour; and,
앫 The victim and the offender both understand the dynamic that led
to the specific incident, gain a sense of closure and are reintegrated
into the community.
1.5 Objectives
More specifically, restorative justice practitioners tend to agree that what
truly makes a particular response to crime a “restorative” one is not so
much a specific practice or process, but rather its adherence to a set of
broad objectives that provide a common basis for the participation of par-
ties in responding to a criminal incident and its consequences. 
The objectives of restorative justice programmes have been stated in 
a number of different ways, but essentially contain the following key
elements:
(a) Supporting victims, giving them a voice, encouraging them to express their
needs, enabling them to participate in the resolution process and offering them
assistance. For the last two decades or so criminal justice systems have
been called upon to focus more directly on the needs and interests of
victims. In 1985, the General Assembly adopted a Declaration of Basic
Principles on Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power which stated
that “informal mechanisms for the resolution of disputes, including
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