Research On Restorative Justice

Restorative justice means that after a crime happens, the victims, the offenders and any other individuals or community members affected by the crime get together actively in the resolution of matters arising from the crime , generally with the help of a facilitator. Restorative process may include mediation, conciliation, conferencing and sentencing circle. Restorative outcome means an agreement reached as a result of a restorative process. Restorative outcomes include responses and programs such as reparation, restitution and community service.Restorative justice came into being in North America in the 1970s. After that it developed on a large scale in the world. Restorative justice is quite different from the traditional retributive justice in the ways of crime concept and criminal penalty. So in this paper, the author introduces the western new criminal justice mode.This paper consists of six parts. The first part introduces some basic theories of restorative justice, such as the definition, the basic concepts, the characteristics, the applicability and the relationship between restorative justice and traditional retributive justice. In the second one the author discusses the background and headstream of restorative justice. The third one mainly illustrates five operation models, especially each model's characteristics and applicability. In Part Four the author analyzes the values of restorative justice in views of the victims, the offenders, the communities, economy and crime control. And on the basis of above, the author tries to show the strong functions of restorative justice are to restore the relations and to control crimes. In the fifth part, the author brings forward the three disadvantages of restorative justice objectively. In the last part, the author talks about the feasibility of restorative justice in China. After demonstrating some feasible and impeditive factors, the author draws a conclusion.