Restorative justice remains today the most concrete vision of challenging current penal developments and offering alternatives to the repressive and exclusionary approaches used in addressing current societal challenges. This vision is manifested in a desire to reform both penal and social systems in their inner structures, in favor of practices that are more adequate to the ideals and principles of modern democracies and to human rights.

To live up to this vision and address current penal and social challenges, the restorative movement has to constantly reimagine itself, and the EFRJ conference intends to be the international forum for doing that. In 2018 Europe will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movements and therefore we would like to honor that important heritage in this conference.

The conference will explore at depth the realities and visions of restorative justice in the European penal and social landscapes, through three core themes: 1. Restorative intersections with the criminal justice system; 2.Restorative juvenile justice realities and visions; 3. Reimagining restorative justice as a social movement

1. Restorative Intersections with the Criminal Justice Systems

• The influence of restorative justice on penal sanctions and decisions
• Restorative justice between diversion and parallel systems of “dual track”
• Restorative justice at different stages of criminal proceedings
• Applying restorative justice to a diversity of offences
• Differences in stages of restorative justice development and implementation in the European landscape
• Diversity of models and practices of restorative justice in Europe
• Training and cooperation of judicial stakeholders
• Restorative rights and safeguards for victims and offenders

2. Restorative Juvenile Justice Realities and Visions

• Doing restorative justice with child victims and offenders
• Diversity of models and practices of (restorative) juvenile justice in Europe
• Differences in stages of (restorative) juvenile justice development and implementation in the European landscape
• Developing child-oriented innovative restorative practices
• Children’s rights, needs, obligations, and safeguards in restorative justice
• Training and cooperation of judicial stakeholders
• Restorative justice’s role in preventing youth crime
• The contribution of restorative justice to divert young people from the criminal justice system
• The role of families and other stakeholders in juvenile restorative justice cases

3. Reimagining Restorative Justice as a Social Movement

• The relation of restorative justice with other social movements (such as abolitionism, decarceration movement, feminist movement, civil rights movement, anti-racism, children’s rights, indigenous rights movement, etc.)
• The role of restorative justice to address migration-related challenges
• Restorative interventions to radicalisation, terrorism and their repercussions (such as rise of populism, societal polarisations, etc.)
• The use of restorative justice to address social harm, state crime, corporate crimes, etc.
• Towards restorative cities and municipalities, and bottom up urban initiatives
• Reflections on the past, present and future restorative realities, visions, utopias, agendas
• Standards and values of restorative justice in Europe
• Restorative justice, social mediation, and intercultural dialogue

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Fania Davis – USA           Vincenzo Ruggiero – UK           David O’Mahony – UK

Jonathan Doak – UK           Claudia Mazzucato – Italy           Tali Gal – Israel

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