Punishment, Restorative Justice and the Morality of Law

Punishment, Restorative Justice and the Morality of Law PDF Author: Erik Claes
Publisher: Intersentia nv
ISBN: 9050954235
Category : Corrections
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Critics take the unclear status of restorative justice practices, along with their vagueness in meaning and purpose, as a clear invitation to a fundamental questioning of the legitimacy of these practices. Their supporters consider the experiment of restorative justice as a platform for reforming penal institutions and for rethinking the legitimacy of orthodox legal reasoning. Within the framework of a rechtsstaat, a democratic state governed by fundamental rights and by the rule of law, both issues of legitimacy lead not only to reflection on concepts such as restoration, punishment, or on such notions as harm and wrong. Questioning the legitimacy both of restorative justice practices and of the prevailing penal system also inevitably involves some reflection on, and articulation of, the underlying values and normative aspirations of such a democratic constitutional state. What are these values and how can they be given appropriate expression in the leading concepts and principles of the criminal law? To what extent are fundamental rights and principles of the rule of law sufficiently reflected in the practices of restorative justice? How are these practices to be related to the criminal justice system according to the normative aspirations of a democratic constitutional state? To what degree can current penal practices be made continuous with these aspirations? These fundamental questions formed the intellectual framework for the 10th Aquinas Conference on Restorative Justice, Punishment and the Morality of Law, at which conference the larger part of the papers published in this volume were presented. Consistent with the structure of the conference, this collection of essays is organised into three parts, each focussing on one central topic and containing a lead essay and corresponding replies. The first part offers critical scrutiny of one of the cornerstones of a criminal justice system governed by the rule of law, namely the principle of legality. Efforts are made to empower this principle through reflection on its underlying values and aspirations, and this in order to meet some of the legitimate ideals and concerns of restorative justice. These efforts are subsequently assessed from both sociological and philosophical perspectives. In the second part, attention is drawn to the legitimacy of restorative justice practices. Here, the normative intuitions of a democratic constitutional state serve either as a critical framework to assess these practices, or, more optimistically, as ideals to whose realisation restorative justice is supposed to make a valuable contribution. And, finally, in the third part, reflection on the value of restorative justice brings us to a fundamental questioning of the legitimacy of punishment and penal practices. Central to the discussion is whether it is possible to interpret and normatively reconstruct the idea and practice of punishment so as to make them compatible with, and even continuous with, the underlying values of a democratic constitutional state.

Punishment, Restorative Justice and the Morality of Law

Punishment, Restorative Justice and the Morality of Law PDF Author: Erik Claes
Publisher: Intersentia nv
ISBN: 9050954235
Category : Corrections
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Get Book Here

Book Description
Critics take the unclear status of restorative justice practices, along with their vagueness in meaning and purpose, as a clear invitation to a fundamental questioning of the legitimacy of these practices. Their supporters consider the experiment of restorative justice as a platform for reforming penal institutions and for rethinking the legitimacy of orthodox legal reasoning. Within the framework of a rechtsstaat, a democratic state governed by fundamental rights and by the rule of law, both issues of legitimacy lead not only to reflection on concepts such as restoration, punishment, or on such notions as harm and wrong. Questioning the legitimacy both of restorative justice practices and of the prevailing penal system also inevitably involves some reflection on, and articulation of, the underlying values and normative aspirations of such a democratic constitutional state. What are these values and how can they be given appropriate expression in the leading concepts and principles of the criminal law? To what extent are fundamental rights and principles of the rule of law sufficiently reflected in the practices of restorative justice? How are these practices to be related to the criminal justice system according to the normative aspirations of a democratic constitutional state? To what degree can current penal practices be made continuous with these aspirations? These fundamental questions formed the intellectual framework for the 10th Aquinas Conference on Restorative Justice, Punishment and the Morality of Law, at which conference the larger part of the papers published in this volume were presented. Consistent with the structure of the conference, this collection of essays is organised into three parts, each focussing on one central topic and containing a lead essay and corresponding replies. The first part offers critical scrutiny of one of the cornerstones of a criminal justice system governed by the rule of law, namely the principle of legality. Efforts are made to empower this principle through reflection on its underlying values and aspirations, and this in order to meet some of the legitimate ideals and concerns of restorative justice. These efforts are subsequently assessed from both sociological and philosophical perspectives. In the second part, attention is drawn to the legitimacy of restorative justice practices. Here, the normative intuitions of a democratic constitutional state serve either as a critical framework to assess these practices, or, more optimistically, as ideals to whose realisation restorative justice is supposed to make a valuable contribution. And, finally, in the third part, reflection on the value of restorative justice brings us to a fundamental questioning of the legitimacy of punishment and penal practices. Central to the discussion is whether it is possible to interpret and normatively reconstruct the idea and practice of punishment so as to make them compatible with, and even continuous with, the underlying values of a democratic constitutional state.

Making Amends

Making Amends PDF Author: Linda Radzik
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199767254
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
It is often assumed that wrongdoing can only be resolved through punishment or forgiveness. But this book explores the responses that wrongdoers can and should make to their own misdeeds, responses such as apology, repentance, reparations, and self-punishment. It examines the possibility of atonement in a broad spectrum of contexts -- from cases of relatively minor wrongs in personal relationships, to crimes, to the historical injustices of our political and religious communities. It argues that wrongdoers often have the ability to earn redemption within the moral community, that respect and trust among victims, communities and wrongdoers can be rebuilt, and that the moral responsibility of wrongdoing groups can be addressed without treating their members unfairly.

The Moral Punishment Instinct

The Moral Punishment Instinct PDF Author: Jan-Willem van Prooijen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190609974
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Why do we universally punish offenders? This book proposes that people possess a moral punish instinct: a hard-wired tendency to aggress against those who violate the norms of their group. This instinct is reflected in how punishment originates from moral emotions, stimulates cooperation, and shapes the social life of human beings.

Free Will Skepticism in Law and Society

Free Will Skepticism in Law and Society PDF Author: Elizabeth Shaw
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108661262
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
'Free will skepticism' refers to a family of views that all take seriously the possibility that human beings lack the control in action - i.e. the free will - required for an agent to be truly deserving of blame and praise, punishment and reward. Critics fear that adopting this view would have harmful consequences for our interpersonal relationships, society, morality, meaning, and laws. Optimistic free will skeptics, on the other hand, respond by arguing that life without free will and so-called basic desert moral responsibility would not be harmful in these ways, and might even be beneficial. This collection addresses the practical implications of free will skepticism for law and society. It contains eleven original essays that provide alternatives to retributive punishment, explore what (if any) changes are needed for the criminal justice system, and ask whether we should be optimistic or pessimistic about the real-world implications of free will skepticism.

State Punishment

State Punishment PDF Author: Nicola Lacey
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134838018
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
Nicola Lacey presents a new approach to the question of the moral justification of punishment by the State. She focuses on the theory of punishments in context of other political questions, such as the nature of political obligation and the function and scope of criminal law. Arguing that no convincing set of justifying reasons has so far been produced, she puts forward a theory of punishments which places the values of the community at its centre.

Handbook on Restorative Justice Programmes

Handbook on Restorative Justice Programmes PDF Author: Yvon Dandurand
Publisher: United Nations Publications
ISBN: 9789211337549
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The present handbook offers, in a quick reference format, an overview of key considerations in the implementation of participatory responses to crime based on a restorative justice approach. Its focus is on a range of measures and programmes, inspired by restorative justice values, that are flexible in their adaptation to criminal justice systems and that complement them while taking into account varying legal, social and cultural circumstances. It was prepared for the use of criminal justice officials, non-governmental organizations and community groups who are working together to improve current responses to crime and conflict in their community

The Machinery of Criminal Justice

The Machinery of Criminal Justice PDF Author: Stephanos Bibas
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190236760
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Two centuries ago, American criminal justice was run primarily by laymen. Jury trials passed moral judgment on crimes, vindicated victims and innocent defendants, and denounced the guilty. But since then, lawyers have gradually taken over the process, silencing victims and defendants and, in many cases, substituting plea bargaining for the voice of the jury. The public sees little of how this assembly-line justice works, and victims and defendants have largely lost their day in court. As a result, victims rarely hear defendants express remorse and apologize, and defendants rarely receive forgiveness. This lawyerized machinery has purchased efficient, speedy processing of many cases at the price of sacrificing softer values, such as reforming defendants and healing wounded victims and relationships. In other words, the U.S. legal system has bought quantity at the price of quality, without recognizing either the trade-off or the great gulf separating lawyers' and laymen's incentives, values, and powers. In The Machinery of Criminal Justice, author Stephanos Bibas surveys the developments over the last two centuries, considers what we have lost in our quest for efficient punishment, and suggests ways to include victims, defendants, and the public once again. Ideas range from requiring convicts to work or serve in the military, to moving power from prosecutors to restorative sentencing juries. Bibas argues that doing so might cost more, but it would better serve criminal procedure's interests in denouncing crime, vindicating victims, reforming wrongdoers, and healing the relationships torn by crime.

Justice through Apologies

Justice through Apologies PDF Author: Nick Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521189453
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this follow up to I Was Wrong: The Meanings of Apologies, Nick Smith expands his ambitious theories of categorical apologies to civil and criminal law. After rejecting court-ordered apologies as unjustifiable humiliation, this book explains that penitentiaries were originally designed to bring about penance - something like apology - and that this tradition has been lost in the assembly line of mass incarceration. Smith argues that the state should modernize these principles and techniques to reduce punishments for offenders who demonstrate moral transformation through apologizing. Smith also explains the counterintuitive situation whereby apologies come to have considerable financial worth in civil cases because victims associate them with priceless matters of the soul. Such confusions allow powerful wrongdoers to manipulate perceptions to disastrous effect, such as when corporations or governments assert that apologies do not equate to accepting blame or require reform or redress.

Restoring Justice

Restoring Justice PDF Author: Daniel W. Van Ness
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1437778976
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Restoring Justice: An Introduction to Restorative Justice offers a clear and convincing explanation of restorative justice, a movement within criminal justice with growing worldwide influence. It explores the broad appeal of this new vision and offers a brief history of its development. The book presents a theoretical foundation for the principles and values of restorative justice and develops its four cornerpost ideas of encounter, amends, inclusion and reintegration. After exploring how restorative justice ideas and values may be integrated into policy and practice, it presents a series of key issues commonly raised about restorative justice, summarizing various perspectives on each. Van Ness and Strong are renowned scholars in the field of restorative justice. Appendices include a case study to help illustrate the concepts of the text and internet resources on topics in restorative justice.

Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice PDF Author: Heather Strang
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351965301
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
The astonishing development of restorative justice practice over the past decade has inspired creative new thinking about the philosophy of punishment and principles of justice. Many of the questions raised in this book – such as the relationship between restorative and retributive justice and the values and processes which should guide restorative practice – are the subject of intense debates. With contributions from many of the most distinguished scholars in the field, this book analyzes the gap between philosophy and practice and the need for practice to be more informed by philosophy. This volume is a milestone in the development of those underlying principles which will direct the progress of restorative justice in the future.