Building a domestic and international partnership for implementing RJ

Source: (2008) Report of the fifth conference of the European Forum for Restorative Justice, Building restorative justice in Europe: cooperation between the public, policy makers, practitioners and researchers, Verona.

In 1999, restorative justice efforts in Albania partnered with efforts in Norway, largely in a financial sense but also in an information-sharing way. The two countries being substantially different, certain accommodations had to be made. There was a need for time and reliable interpreters so information could be presented clearly and understood thoroughly. The two organizations met not as teachers and students but as colleagues, creating an equal give-and-take in observing how the other organization managed restorative justice, primarily mediation. The report includes both the Norwegian and the Albanian perspectives on the partnership. Fundamentally, they both agree that the differences between their countries complemented the work they were doing rather than hindered it.