Restorative Justice: Steps on the Way Toward a Good Idea

Abstract

The roots of the restorative justice paradigm date back to the early 1970s. At this time, “informal justice” was a general term for developments considering that legal decisions were no longer sufficient to meet society’s need for socially integrative interventions. First in the USA and Canada, later also catching on in Europe, informal justice planned to create better access to law, particularly in the field of minor interpersonal conflicts in which complicated legal procedures were inhibiting the enforcement of legal claims. The administration of law should be more closely linked to social networks such as family and community and should take better advantage of the variety and involvement of intermediary norm authorities. Small claims courts, neighborhood justice centers, citizen dispute settlement centers, and similar programs were created. Informal justice campaigned for a justice oriented more toward individual expectations of legal protection.