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Unit of Study JUST2003 - Restorative Justice (2021)

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Unit Snapshot

Unit description

Examines the philosophy and principles of restorative justice as an alternative approach to orthodox criminal justice processes. Discusses the theory and practice of restorative justice at various state, national and international levels. Analyses the appropriateness of restorative justice from the perspectives of participants including victims, offenders, state representatives and minority groups such as Indigenous people and people from non-English speaking backgrounds. Examines the application of restorative justice across the spectrum of the criminal justice system, from pre-sentence conferencing to inmate misconduct.

Unit content

Topic 1 Philosophy and principles of restorative justice
Topic 2 Participant perspectives in restorative justice processes
Topic 3 Theories of restorative justice
Topic 4 Critical perspectives on restorative justice
Topic 5 Victim-offender mediation
Topic 6 Conferencing as part of the restorative justice movement: international developments
Topic 7 Conferencing as part of the restorative justice movement: national developments
Topic 8 Case study: NSW conferencing scheme
Topic 9 Cultural appropriateness
Topic 10 Access, ethics and safeguards
Topic 11 Case study: restorative justice within corrective services
Topic 12 Restorative justice at the international criminal law level

Availabilities

Not currently available in 2021

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

describe the philosophy and principles of restorative justice

identify the difference, and relationship, between punitive justice and restorative justice;

describe the practice of restorative justice at state, national and international levels;

describe and assess the roles of participants in restorative justice processes, including the victim, the offender, the community and the state;

analyse restorative justice theory and practice from critical perspectives;

demonstrate skills in legal research, critical analysis and the written presentation of research and argument in the area of restorative justice.