What Is Restorative Justice?

Introducing the Restorative Justice Column

By Abdul-Malik Muhammad, Co-Editor, Restorative Justice Column

In NPEP, our restorative justice practice is based on four pillars:

Reconciliation challenges us to make strides to repair any harm that was inflicted on a particular individual or community.

Accountability forces us to acknowledge any wrongdoing and/or harm we have caused.

Community allows us to come together collectively as a group while aiding and assisting one another in our restorative justice (RJ) journey.

Empathy gives us the opportunity to see and feel the pain through the lens of our harmed parties.

With these four pillars, our RJ community has constructed a space and platform rooted in education, a platform through which we can engage in restorative and transformative practices. It also gives a space to showcase our collective and individual growth in rehabilitation, while forming a bridge to seek forgiveness and offer genuine apologies to individuals and communities who have been harmed.

Each issue of the Northwestern Insider will include one or more essays that reflect the restorative justice journey of an NPEP student. In addition, the Restorative Justice column will give all NPEP students the opportunity to reflect on a restorative justice prompt, creating a community voice.

What Is Restorative Justice?

By Annalise Buth

There is not a singular definition of restorative justice, and it can be viewed as a framework, theory of justice, set of practices, movement, or way of life.

Current restorative justice praxis is influenced by streams of practice in Indigenous Peacemaking, faith traditions, schools, criminal legal systems, and other communities.

Restorative justice emphasizes a relational, value-based approach to creating healthy and equitable communities in an interconnected world and repairing harm when there is a breakdown in relationships.

Accordingly, it requires a shift in thinking about crime. It focuses on the impact of harm rather than merely the guilt of someone who has broken a law.

Restorative justice centers on taking responsibility, remorse, reparation, and healing instead of punishment, and it recognizes the transformational power of stories for connection.

Annalise Buth is clinical assistant professor of law in the Center on Negotiation, Mediation, and Restorative Justice at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and supports NPEP’s restorative justice program.