Who Sets the Limits in Restorative Justice and Why? Comparative Implications Learnt from Restorative Encounters with Terrorism Victims in the Basque Country

Authors

  • Gema Varona Permanent researcher at the Basque Institute of Criminology

Keywords:

Criminology, victimology, restorative justice, victims, terrorism, secondary victimisation, forgiveness, recovery, Criminología, victimología, justicia restaurativa, víctimas, terrorismo, victimización secundaria, País Vasco, perdón, recuperación

Abstract

The starting point of this paper is the 2012 Spanish Interior Ministry Plan for terrorism and other organised crimes regarding reparative programs. Comparative experiences of restorative justice in grave victimisations will be considered to point out their global growth and their positive impact for many victims in terms of recovery and minimisation of secondary victimisation. Secondary victimisation seems one of the major concerns of the 2012 EU Directive on the rights of victims in relation to restorative justice. This might not to be justified in the light of research results and, at the theoretical level, of given international specific standards that function as safeguards for victims, offenders and communities. Those safeguards will be confronted to the weight of public opinion, media and political interests. Diverse political interests are particularly present in most serious victimisations within the so-called punitiveness climate, but also within victims’ interests related to memory for irreparable harms.

El punto de partida de este texto es el Plan del Ministerio del Interior español de 2012 relativo a los programas reparadores destinados a condenados por terrorismo y delincuencia organizada. Se consideran experiencias comparadas de justicia restaurativa en victimizaciones graves para señalar su expansión global y su impacto positivo para muchas víctimas en términos de recuperación y minimización de la victimización secundaria. La victimización secundaria parece ser una de las principales preocupaciones de la Directiva de la Unión Europea de 2012 sobre derechos de las víctimas, en relación con la justicia restaurativa. No obstante, esta preocupación no parece justificarse a la luz de los resultados de la investigación empírica y los estándares internacionales en la materia que funcionan como garantías para todos los agentes en juego, no obstante el peso de la opinión pública, los medios de comunicación y los intereses políticos. Las demandas de las víctimas de memoria, ante daños irreparables, se producen en un clima de punitivismo.

DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2473188

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Published

19-06-2013

How to Cite

Varona, G. (2013) “Who Sets the Limits in Restorative Justice and Why? Comparative Implications Learnt from Restorative Encounters with Terrorism Victims in the Basque Country”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 4(3), pp. 550–572. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/285 (Accessed: 28 March 2024).