Restorative Justice

Northern Ireland's justice minister Naomi Long has hailed the transformational impact of restorative justice at an annual conference in Belfast. The Restorative Justice Council's second annual Belfast conference had the theme of "Breaking the Cycle" and provided a platform to leading experts and tho

Restorative justice has still not recovered from a "collapse in referrals" during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to researchers. Annual data published today by the Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C) research project shows that the restorative justice caseload remained well below pr

Pa Daly TD and Dr Ian Marder argue their new private members’ bill could be a win-win for victims of crime, people who commit offences and the wider community. We expect our criminal justice system to make us all safer and meet the needs of victims of crime. Yet, our courts face long delays an

Sinn Féin has proposed legislation to encourage greater use of restorative justice practices in Ireland. The Criminal Justice (Promotion of Restorative Justice) Amendment Bill 2023, introduced by TDs Pa Daly, Maurice Quinlivan and Patricia Ryan, would amend the Criminal Justice (Victims of Cr

Government plans to make restorative justice available to everyone who could benefit from it will likely still leave "significant gaps", an expert has said. A policy paper published this month states that restorative justice is not yet being used to its "maximum potential" in Ireland, and that its e

Restorative justice is not yet being used to its "maximum potential" in Ireland and its expansion could deliver "significant savings to the State", according to a new government policy paper. In Irish law, restorative justice is defined as any scheme through which, with the consent of each party, a

A new draft protocol governing the use of restorative interventions in the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland has been published. Then-justice minister Naomi Long last year ordered a review of the 2007 protocol which governs the work of community-based restorative justice (CBRJ) organisatio

Community Restorative Justice Ireland (CRJI) has had its funding suspended by Northern Ireland's Executive Office after concerns were raised about its financial and corporate governance. The Executive Office is the single largest funder of CRJI and has funded it to the tune of £1.2 million in

Restorative justice is becoming more common in Ireland but is "still not being used to its full potential", new research has found. A second mapping exercise by researchers at Maynooth University School of Law and Criminology has found that the six main providers delivered 1,056 restorative justice

Northern Ireland's first-ever adult restorative justice strategy has been launched. The strategy, which runs from 2022-2027 and was developed in conjunction with statutory, voluntary and community sector partners, aims to better meet the needs of, and provide redress for the harm caused to victims o

National action plans to develop and use restorative justice should be developed and implemented by all Council of Europe countries, a conference of European justice ministers has concluded. The Council of Europe conference of justice ministers, held in Venice from Monday to Tuesday, adopted the "Ve

The Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) has launched a new restorative justice practice framework setting out its ambition to become the leading organisation for the delivery of restorative practices for adults at all stages of the criminal justice system. As one of the first steps in implem

A new website exploring the use of restorative justice and practices in the Irish criminal justice system has been launched with funding from the Department of Justice. The restorativejustice.ie website has been launched by the Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C) project and hosts the

The government reaffirmed its commitment to restorative justice at a webinar co-hosted with Restorative Justice: Strategies for Change (RJS4C).

A consultation on an adult restorative justice strategy for Northern Ireland has been launched today. The Department of Justice is consulting on its plans to make restorative justice "second nature, not separate nature, within the criminal justice system and its accredited partner organisations".