Workshop 2: Enhancing Criminal Justice Reform, Including Restorative Justice.

Source: (2005) Item 7 of the provisional agenda, at the Eleventh United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, 18-25 April, Bangkok, Thailand. 24 February. Downloaded 2 August 2005.

This background paper for a workshop on enhancing criminal justice reform (workshop at the 11th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, April 18-25, 2005, in Bangkok) discusses priorities for criminal justice reform and opportunities for the effective enhancement of criminal justice, followed by recommendations for consideration by workshop participants. An introductory section considers pressures on criminal justice systems to adapt to new conditions, including serious forms of transnational crime that require international cooperation; demands for access to justice; and the growing influence of restorative justice principles on criminal justice institutions. The paper’s second section outlines priorities for criminal justice reform. These include the criminal justice system’s interaction with diverse populations, such as women, children, the elderly, ethnic and cultural minorities, and people with disabilities; the protection of population groups vulnerable to criminal victimization; sentencing and correctional alternatives to imprisonment; and the incorporation of international standards and resources in priorities and designs for reform. The third section of the paper identifies and discusses opportunities for the effective enhancement of criminal justice. Among the eight areas of opportunity addressed are integrated and comprehensive reforms, regional and international coordination in reform efforts, the involvement of community and nongovernmental institutions in criminal justice reforms, and the monitoring and evaluation of criminal justice practices. Thirteen recommendations are offered as guidance for criminal justice reforms. Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.