RJ theory involves three categories of participants in RJ practices: the victims, the offenders and the community (or civil society members). Therefore, beyond victim-offender mediation, there are RJ practices implemented worldwide which imply “community’s” participation, such as  Restorative Circles, RJ Conferences, Community Accountability Conferences, Sentencing circles, etc. Moreover, many RJ scholars claim that community members’ participation in RJ processes is important for both the offenders and the victims as well for representing the public dimension of an offense. Nevertheless, the concept of “community” in a RJ context lacks clarity and still mains undiscovered within the RJ movement. What does “community” mean in our modern societies and who can take this role in the frame of a RJ process? To understand this concept an inderdiscThe authors of these two articles raise the question of the community in the frame of RJ and provide some findings from empirical studies on RJ practices that involve community members’ participation.

Articles:

• WRIGHT Martin, “Community Involvement in Restorative Justice”, Victim Offender Mediation Association, 2005 (19)

• ROSSNER Meredith and BRUCE Jasmine, “Community participation in restorative justice: rituals, reintegration, and quasi-professionalization”, Victims and Offenders, 2016, 11 (1). pp. 107-125

Restorative Justice (RJ) awareness campaign launched  by

the  Center for the Study of Crime (CESC)

in collaboration with

Katerina Soulou

PhD candidate Aix-Marseille University

European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ) Board member

Athens, 17-24 November 2019