Source: (2000) Paper presented at the Just Peace? Peace Making and Peace Building for the New Millennium conference, held in Auckland, New Zealand, 24-28 April. Auckland, New Zealand: Massey University, School of Social and Cultural Studies, Centre for Justice and Peace Development.
Speaking as a minister in the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand, the Reverend Douglas Mansill emphasizes community empowerment and well being in his work and in this address. He argues on the basis of his experience that adversarial processes often do not produce true justice: they tend to deny rather than discover truth; fail to meet the needs of all parties involved in a conflict situation; and focus on the offender rather than the victim, sometimes to the further traumatization of the victim and to the exclusion of mitigating circumstances concerning the offender. Restorative justice processes, in contrast, do a better job of seeking true justice for individuals and communities. In this regard, Mansill points to Biblical principles of peace, justice, mercy, and healing. He also identifies four key components of restorative justice: recognition of accountability for offenders; satisfaction of the needs of victims; negotiation of a community response; and empowerment of the community affected by the harm.
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