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Restorative Justice for Children: In Need of Procedural Safeguards and Standards

Eliaerts, Christian
June 4, 2015

Source: (2002) In, Elmar G.M. Weitekamp and Han-Jurgen Kerner, Restorative Justice: Theoretical Foundations. Deon, UK: Willan Publishing. Pp. 204-223.

Eliaerts and Dumortier, citing various developments around the world in the last decade, suggest that restorative justice may be in process of becoming the basic model of juvenile justice. In view of this, they raise certain concerns. For example, the informality and lack of rules in restorative justice could lead to infringement of basic human rights or to non-restorative practices masquerading as restorative justice. The authors therefore argue for tempering the call for informality in restorative justice with the need for clear standards and procedural safeguards, especially with respect to juveniles. To make their argument, they identify several reasons why restorative justice for young people needs procedural safeguards, and they propose certain basic procedural safeguards and standards to guide restorative justice processes.

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