What are the forgotten promises of restorative justice? Is restorative justice more closely wedded to a ‘culture of control’ than we might think? What are the ethics of restoration and how do they relate to existing thinking and practices? The aim of this seminar is to critically reflect on the restorative dimension of criminal justice. We will hear from three speakers on the topic:

Professor George Pavlich, Department of Sociology and Faculty of Law, University of Alberta

‘Archived Promises and the Future of Restorative Justice’

Professor Pavlich will return to the three early promises of community mediation to re-imagine state-restorative alliances: 1) creating a hospitable justice beyond state criminalisation arenas (diversion); 2) rescinding the state’s exclusive jurisdictional claims to define certain wrongs as crime and hold individuals responsible for this; and, 3) deploying new communal powers to resolve conflicts locally. In so doing, he will open up to lost critiques of criminalisation and try to define promises of ‘how to be with others’ justly.

Professor Gerry Johnstone, Hull Law School, University of Hull

‘Restorative Justice and the Culture of Control’

Professor Johnstone will speak about the relationship between the ‘culture of control’ and restorative justice. Restorative justice has been represented by many as a counterforce to the culture of control - a more hopeful, compassionate, inclusive, empowering and civilised alternative. Hence, it is emphasised that the restorative justice movement advocates healing over hurting, building bridges over building walls, inclusion over exclusion, peaceful negotiation over a militaristic war on crime, and so on. While opposed to aspects of the culture of control, Johnstone argues that the restorative justice movement has been shaped by many of the same social forces that gave rise to it and shares many of its assumptions.

Dr Amanda Wilson, Warwick Law School, University of Warwick

‘The Moral Psychology of Restorative Justice’

Dr Wilson will discuss the ethics of restorative justice (RJ). RJ has always had difficulty relating an ethical theory to an institutional setting. Either the ethical theory is seen as subsumed by the institutional setting or the institutional setting discloses something that it cannot contain or express. The problem goes to the heart of RJ and its foundation in an ethics of shame (‘reintegrative shaming’, Braithwaite) as an alternative to a legal concept of guilt. However, Wilson argues that the rejection of guilt is based on an understanding of its shallow legal form. Guilt has a deeper form—that of quantum guilt—which, paradoxically given its self-understanding, is what restorative justice needs if it is to advance its ethics and push back against the institutional form.

Chair: Professor Alan Norrie, Warwick Law School.

This event is hosted by the Criminal Justice Centre at the University of Warwick and sponsored by the Social & Legal Studies journal and the Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Warwick.

This is a free event but you must register in order to secure your place. Please RSVP to: Amanda.Wilson@warwick.ac.uk by 4pm 4th October, 2019.