Rule of marginalized community: Integrating frames of restorative justice and human rights.

Source: (2012) Paper presented at the 1st International Symposium on Restorative Justice and Human Rights. 2-7 June 2012, Skopelos Island, Greece.

The aim of this paper is twofold: (1) an analysis of the overrepresentation of aboriginal people in Canadian
prisons will highlight the failure of law to treat all members of society equally, thus exposing limits to rule
of law. (2) For this reason, a proposal will be put forward that criminal law must find a way to be
accountable to aboriginal communities, which have, past and present, been at the margins of Canadian
society. This paper humbly suggests a complement to rule of law – rule of marginalized community. That
is, in order to promote equality, rule of law must be married with a version that gives communities more
power in shaping law and, as such, justice outcomes. Taking as its vantage point a theoretical exploration
of the intersection of human rights and restorative justice, a framework will be established whereby
marginalized communities have voice in establishing just societies. (author’s abstract)