In reviving the idea of an informal approach to conflict resolution, the Restorative Justice movement attempts to break out of the freedom punitive thinking which shapes modern criminal justice. Its proponents claim that its guiding ideals - personalism, participation, and reintegration - deliver a fairer, more effective, and more humane justice than does the court system. However, a simplistic tendency both to extol the virtues of restorative justice and to denigrate all formal approaches risks blinding enthusiasts to the dangers inherent in unchecked participant power , as well as to the protection which State institutions and professionals can provide to individuals and communities. The procedural safeguard of institutional accountability helps reduce these dangers. Examining the experiences of 25 programmes in six countries, Accountability in Restorative Justice uncovers a number of neglected, overlapping, and incomplete types of accountability, including the informal type built into deliberations between victims and offenders and their supporters. This deliberative accountability can provide a rigorous check for regulating decision-making, holding state agencies accountable, and monitoring the completion of agreements reached between participants. This book also considers the role played by formal types of accountability, such as external review. It suggests a new approach, in which judges become more involved in monitoring the quality of deliberation in restorative justice conferences than with enforcing traditional sentencing principles.

About the Author
Declan Roche is Lecturer in Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He gained a Ph.D. from the Research School of Social Sciences at Australian National University, Canberra.

Reviews
Compared to other texts on [Restorative Justice], this... is exceptional: it offers readers a concrete and dynamic view of [Restorative Justice's] promise and risks, a reflective and synthetic discussion of the importance of trust and accountability in criminal justice institutions, and an engagement with formal legality and state justice that goes well beyond words in boxes and bubbles from below. * Theoretical Criminology *
Roche's exploration of ... the relationship between accountability and the privacy of the participants, the integrity of the proceedings, the role of the media ... is as persuasive and nuanced as anything I have read on this issue....Declan Roche has done Restorative Justice a considerable service....This is a really good book. * Kieran McEvoy, British Journal of Criminology *
' ... Throughout the book Roche presents clear, very concrete and well-supported recommendations as to how the practice [of restorative justice] can be revised and developed to bring it in line with the ideal ... I regard Accountability in Restorative Justice as a major contribution to knowledge and debate about the prospects and problems of restorative justice. It is theoretically sophisticated and impeccably researched. It also has the merit of being a highly readable, empirically researched book' * Professor Gerry Johnstone, University of Hull, Legal Studies *


Awards
Winner of Winner of the British Society of Criminology Book Prize 2003.



Book Information
ISBN 9780199274277
Author Declan Roche
Format Paperback
Page Count 336
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 431g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 138mm * 18mm