Source: (2004) Papers presented at the Third Conference of the European Forum for Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice, ‘Restorative Justice in Europe: Where are we heading?’, Budapest, Hungary, 14-16 October. Downloaded 22 September 2005.
The scope of restorative justice is not merely a theoretical issue. It is also, and perhaps primarily, a political
and practical one. For those who have chosen for a puristic approach the scope (reach) of restorative
practices is limited to spheres of a) voluntary participation and b) freedom from criminal justice or other
state intervention.
When restorative practices are used to deal with social conflicts and traumata which are not legally defined
as criminal offences the notion of ‘justice’ refers to an informal kind of justice. This is a free, civil and civic
sphere of interaction and very valuable for promoting peace and wellbeing. (excerpt)
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