Restorative justice

What is restorative justice?

Restorative justice is a way to resolve conflicts (such as bullying and ongoing disputes between neighbours) and relationship problems (such as the breakdown of a relationship between parent and child). It aims to repair the harm and prevent the problems from happening again.

Restorative justice has been successfully used in a variery of settings, including schools, workplaces, care homes, in communities and within the criminal justice system. It is usually carried out by a trained professional.

How does it work?

When there is a conflict between two or more people, or an offence has been committed, those involved are brought together by an independent person to discuss what has happened from all points of view. Questions that might be asked are:

what happened?

what were you thinking?

what were you feeling?

who has been affected?

what needs to happen now?  

The questions can be asked as part of an informal chat or in a formal conference, this will depend on the circumstances and the type of behaviour.

These pages tell you more about restorative justice and how it can help you. Use the menu on the left hand side to go to the page that is most relevant to you.

This page was last updated on 3 October 2009