Restorative justice: deliberative democracy in action?

• Published in: Australian journal of political science Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 505 - 518
• Main Authors: Parkinson, John, Roche, Declan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor and Francis Ltd 01.11.2004; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accountability; Australasia; Australia; Balance of power; Crime victims; CRIMINAL JUSTICE; Criminal law; Deliberative democracy; Democracy; Dispute resolution; Equality; Justice; Offenders; U.S.A; United States of America; Victim Offender Relations; Victims of violence; UNITED STATES; AUSTRALIA; Australia; United States; US
• ISSN: 1036-1146; 1363-030X
• DOI: 10.1080/103614042000295101

This paper examines the emergence of restorative justice meetings-in which victims come face to face with offenders-and asks whether they provide an example of deliberative democracy in action. The article analyses some restorative justice initiatives from the United States and Australasia and finds that they exhibit inclusiveness, and create more scope for democratic control, but are less strong on the equality criterion. Accountability has also been identified as a weakness of restorative meetings but, drawing on deliberative democratic theory, the authors suggest a possible solution. In their ability to transform preferences of both victims and offenders, restorative meetings offer both a vivid example to deliberative democrats and a powerful challenge to justice systems that rely heavily on incarceration.