Restorative justice in the South African context.

Source: (2005) In Traggy Maepa, ed., Beyond Retribution: Prospects for Restorative Justice in South Africa. Monograph no. 111, February. Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies, with the Restorative Justice Centre. Downloaded 9 August 2005.

Batley’s article focuses on what restorative justice does and does not mean. He quotes the “four Rsâ€? coined by Rev. Don Misener as the cornerstone of the restorative justice philosophy: facing reality, accepting responsibility, expressing repentance, knowing reconciliation and making restitution. Batley then addresses common criticisms of restorative justice, i.e. not fitting the thinking of legal practitioners, being a soft option, increasing the number of offenders, and not effectively addressing the issues it claims to. In response to these criticisms, Batley describes the common misconceptions of restorative justice and explains how these misconceptions lead to the criticisms outlined. Especially interesting is the analysis of restorative justice in light of different theories of the purpose of the criminal justice system. Abstract courtesy of the Marquette University Law School-Restorative Justice Initiative http://law.marquette.edu/cgi-bin/site.pl?2130&pageID=1831