The Pros and Cons of Having European Standards for Practice and Training.

Source: (2006) Papers presented at the Fourth Conference of the European Forum for Restorative Justice, “Restorative justice: An agenda for Europe”, Barcelona, Spain, 15-17 June 2006.

There has been phenomenal growth and development throughout the world in practices and processes which draw on restorative justice principles. Service provision has expanded beyond the criminal justice sector to the extent that restorative justice principles are applied to work in schools, disputes in the workplace, inter communal peace making, etc. This range of application is proof of the vitality and dynamism inherent in the concept of restorative justice. This welcome expansion, however, raises questions about regulation and consolidation. Issues arise concerning standards: how can we preserve fundamental values about restorative justice in a time of rapid change; how can we promote safe practice and maintain the confidence and credibility of other professionals in our application of restorative justice principles; how can we build a foundation for future development in this valuable area of work? (author’s abstract)