Investigating Restorative Justice Implementations for Ireland
In March 2007, Ireland established the National Commission on Restorative Justice to explore implementation in Ireland. To date, the Commission has published an interim report with recommendations and continues its work until mid-year 2009. This article describes the work of the Commission. It is excerpted from a longer article by Martin Haverty, a researcher for the Commission and includes a link to the full-text.
Membership of the Commission
The National
Commission on Restorative Justice (Commission) is chaired by Judge
Mary Martin and includes members drawn from senior management ranks of
the Irish Criminal Justice System, such as the Probation Service, An
Garda Siochana (National Police Service), the Courts, and the Office of
the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Commission also has the
services of a former member of Seanad Eireann and a previous spokesman
for IBEC.
Terms of Reference
The terms of reference handed to the Commission are quite expansive and
well defined. In essence the Commissions role is to “Consider the
application of the concept of restorative justice with regard to
persons brought before the courts on criminal charges, and to make
recommendations as to its wider application in this jurisdiction”. The
terms of reference also spell out particular areas which are to be
reviewed. These include reviewing existing Irish models of restorative
justice, and contemporary developments abroad. In particular the
Commission is required to look at research based evidence and
evaluations of various restorative justice models abroad, in comparison
with other Court disposals.
Role and Objectives of the Commission
The terms of reference set out the role and objectives of the
Commission. Ultimately the task is to “review and consider” restorative
justice particularly in terms of how it may be applied on a national
basis. Essentially this will involve an exploration of international
best practice in restorative justice. Domestically the Commission will
also review existing restorative interventions operating on both a
legislative and non-legislative basis.
At present restorative justice operates at the juvenile level under the
Children Act 2001, which provides for a range of restorative
interventions. At the adult level, restorative justice is provided for
under two local schemes at Nenagh, County Tipperary, and in Tallaght,
County Dublin. These programmes operate at the pre-conviction stage of
the criminal justice system.
It is envisaged that the Commission will pay particular attention to
these arrangements when considering how restorative justice may be
rolled out on a larger basis. The Commission can also draw upon the
work which was carried out by the
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and
Women’s Rights which prepared a report in January 2007. This
report is an important political reference point for the Commission,
and it also demonstrates the political momentum that is gathering in
favour of restorative justice. It also highlights a growing
awareness in Ireland which is recognising that the traditional
approaches to criminal justice are limited in the extent to which they
can effectively reduce crime rates, rehabilitate offenders, and serve
the needs of victims, particularly in terms of how to redress the harm
caused to the victims as a result of crime.
In March 2008, the Commission completed an
interim report with several recommendations for restorative justice
in Ireland.
Martin Haverty
December 2008
