The origins of restorative justice

Source: (1999) Alberta, Canada: Canadian Forum on Civil Justice.

With increasing interest in restorative justice among government institutions, some advocates wonder whether restorative justice principles will be diluted or even lost. Leung therefore rehearses origins of restorative justice to reinforce its essential principles and aims, including a definition of restorative justice and a comparison with retributive justice. This leads to her exploration of historical and theoretical roots of restorative justice: in North America and New Zealand (e.g., aboriginal values and practices, and Christian communities and theology); the prison abolition movement; and the alternative dispute resolution movement.