Newsletter Volume 15 Number 3 September 2014
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Newsletter Volume 15 Number 3 September 2014 Editorial Firstly, congratulations to our Editor, Kerry Clamp, on the birth of Alexandra Ivy Wood, whose arrival a few weeks early meant that Kerry had more important matters on her mind than writing this editorial. Special congratulations to Christa Pelikan who re- plenary speakers and workshop leaders and the overall ceived the third European Restorative Justice award ambience of the conference. during the conference dinner in Belfast on June 13, We have three book reviews, one by Eric Wiersma 2014. Christa has kindly responded to a request to give on the book by Shannon Moroney, who spoke at the her reflections on the award and her life in restorative Belfast Conference, and two by myself, one on RJ in justice. Christa shares with us her journey of under- Russia and one on work with young offenders in Eng- standing and what currently encourages her about RJ. land. May I take this opportunity to invite you to send The first of our two main articles is by Anamaria Sz- in reviews of books in English about restorative justice abo who brings us up-to-date on ‘Mediation in criminal which you think should be more widely known or, fail- matters in Romania.’ She shares with us the history ing that, send us suggestions for books and we will see of mediation in Romania, the implications of the new if we can find someone to review them. Criminal Codes which came into force earlier this year We have a number of articles from the Belfast and the challenges for mediation in Romania. Conference lined up for the next edition but, in the The second, by Niall Kearney and Bill Whyte, is meantime, we welcome submissions of further art- based on a paper given at the Belfast Conference and icles whether from the Belfast Conference or from describes the Scottish ‘Restoration in Serious Crime’ elsewhere. Please send them to Kris Vanspauwen project. It outlines the background to the project ([email protected]). Don’t worry if this is your first and summarises the work done with a young driver, article; everyone has to start somewhere and the Edit- sentenced to 30 months imprisonment for causing the orial Board has a lot of experience of helping authors death of a passenger in a car accident, and the bereaved to get into print. parents. Robert Shaw Eric Wiersma then treats us to his impressions of Member, Editorial Board the Belfast Conference highlighting the contributions of [email protected] On winning the EFRJ Award I am genuinely happy to have received the EFRJ award. Hearing the cheers of my friends from the EFRJ made me aware how lucky I have been to find restorative justice as my field of work as a social scientist and lucky to find so many people working in this field who are more than just colleagues, I consider them my friends. Many opportunities that I have been exposed to over the course of my career have enabled me to work towards developing restorative justice as a concept and practice within Europe. I want to share with you my story. My work began with the foundation of the Insti- Some of these people I knew from being part of tute for the Sociology of Law and Criminology (IRKS) the ‘68-movement’ which sought to establish an ‘anti- which was an effort of a group of like-minded people. authoritarian’ kindergarten education for our children. 1 We strived for an education without using punish- has relevance both for Europe and for a country like ment — any punishment not just corporal punishment. Colombia which is ridden by armed conflict. When the late Director of IRKS, Heinz Steinert who The horizon of thinking about and of practising res- was also a friend of Nils Christie’s, introduced the idea torative justice had become wider. My, albeit limited, of conflict resolution as an alternative to punishment involvement in the project that led up to the book in the early 1980s it immediately appealed to me. on Restoring justice after large-scale violent conflicts In 1984, I was tasked with conducting the research (Aertsen et al., 2008) further increased my understand- planned as an integral part of the pilot project that ing of this application of restorative justice. Further- tried out conflict regulation (Konfliktregelung) in cases more, getting to know about the Zwelethemba model in involving juvenile offenders at three Austrian courts. South Africa (see Froestad and Shearing, 2007) made I performed — and partly invented — what I called me think about how restorative justice is being used ‘accompanying research’ (a literal translation of ‘Beg- beyond the confines of the criminal justice system. I leitforschung’) — which is an approach which blends started to consider a project ‘Learning from Zweleth- action research and evaluation research. I have de- emba (in Europe)’ and to explore sources of funding for scribed its beginnings and the favourable circumstances this research but unfortunately, I was not successful. that led to its success in various contributions (Pe- Nevertheless, a few years later, the Criminology Insti- likan, 1992, 2000). To transcend the role of a researcher tute of the University of Leuven together with other as a mere detached observer became one of my prime partners including IRKS secured funding for the pro- goals when conducting research and this approach is ject entitled: ‘Developing alternative understandings required and further elaborated in the alternative of security and justice through restorative justice ap- project that I am currently involved in. proaches in intercultural settings within democratic so- In 1989, a big conference took place in Bonn, at- cieties’ (alternative). This is a very exciting project tended by Richard von Weizsäcker, the President of for me, not only because (as I mentioned earlier) it uses Germany. Our colleagues there talked about victim a methodology which requires us, the researchers, to be offender mediation (Täter-Opfer-Ausgleich) as it was more than detached observers, but also because it looks practised within various projects that had sprung up at the use of restorative justice to respond to everyday in many of the Länder in cooperation with the courts, conflicts of people from different ethnic, religious and with public prosecutors and judges. The report from cultural backgrounds living together in Vienna’s pub- Austria’s Außergerichtlicher Tatausgleich (out-of-court lic housing estates. At the Belfast conference we had compensation scheme), already a nationwide scheme a great opportunity to present and discuss interim res- for juveniles, generated much interest. In the after- ults. math of this event Horst Schüler-Springorum, Professor There are a number of key points that I would like to of Penal Law and Criminology, who had moderated make in reflecting on my journey as a researcher and the Bonn conference, recommended me as a speaker at proponent of restorative justice. First, I see it as a events of the Council of Europe. The growing interest field that allows me — us — to become politically so- in VOM eventually resulted in the establishment of the cially relevant — at least sometimes. Second, there is ‘Committee of Experts on Mediation in Penal Matters’ the unique relationship between science/research and within the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. I became practice that goes together with this kind of engage- the Chair of this Committee — and there I got to know ment (see Pelikan(2010) for more detail on this). In Ivo Aertsen in November 1996 and I worked with Siri the course of working for alternative and in the Kemeny whom I had already met in Barcelona in 1995. countless discussions I have had with my colleague and My further thinking and theorising was strongly influ- friend Katrin Kremmel, I have somewhat sharpened the enced by the discussions that we had within this Com- notion of action research and the standpoint and the mittee. involvement of the research with (political) practice. Another significant influence for me was a visit to This is therefore another work and thinking in progress Colombia in 2005. I was invited by Professor Manuel — one that is dear to me — and one that connects me Vidal Noguera of the Xavierian University (Univer- with the practitioners and not least with the people sidad Javeriana) in Bogota, after he had read on a web- on the ground. Finally, it is the people that I have site that I was interested in using the work of Hannah worked with that I am most grateful for. I would like Arendt in connection with restorative justice. Given to venture the contention that we, the people working our mutual admiration of Arendt’s work, he invited in the field of restorative justice, find a special brand of me to attend and speak at a big conference that was personal relationships — bypassing the ‘rat race’ that planned on ‘RJ and peacemaking’ in Cali. I tried to pervades life and relationships in the (scientific) world. convince Manuel that with my Austrian experience in Maybe we do indeed have more caring and supporting restorative justice, I was hardly the person to contrib- relationships with each other within the RJ–scene? I ute to the enormous problems of large-scale political have experienced this time and again — and now, just violence in Colombia. He insisted and I learned during a few weeks ago when spending my holiday in Ireland the course of this exciting event that restorative justice and enjoying the hospitality and generosity of our Irish 2 colleagues, of Tim and Hugh, I think and I feel that Pelikan, C. (1992). The Austrian Juvenile Justice Act we are aware that the way we behave and live our lives 1988: a new practice and new problems.