What is Restorative Justice?
Restorative Justice is a Relational Approach to Crime
- Restorative Justice (RJ) is a human-centered approach to justice that is based on the understanding that justice is about the way in which we relate to and treat one another.
- Restorative justice views crime as more than breaking the law. It recognizes the harm criminal wrong-doing can cause to people, to the relationships between people and to the impacted community.
- Restorative justice seeks to address both the criminal wrong doing and the harms it has caused. RJ is used to foster conditions for just relations between individuals, groups, communities and institutions in society.
- Restorative Justice is grounded in the following principles, which guide the development and implementation of the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Program (NSRJP):
- Relationally focused
- Comprehensive and holistic
- Inclusive and participatory
- Responsive
- Focused on promoting individual and collective accountability & responsibility
- Collaborative and non-adversarial
- Forward-focused