Spotlight - Restorative Justice and Practices_Part II January 2019

Abstract

Restorative justice is a new paradigm which has entered the discussion on what our modern legal system should look like over the last 20 years, in counterpoint to the retributive paradigm. In addition, due to its overlap with transitional justice in terms of objectives and principles, restorative justice has grown as a form of positive language in post-conflict scenarios around the world. With this in mind, the recent Peace Accord between the Government of Colombia (GOC) and the FARC-EP guerrilla group negotiated in Havana included restorative justice as a guiding principle. This two-part Spotlight takes as its starting point the clarification of the concepts of restorative practices and justice (Part I), and goes on to examine the role this new paradigm could play in the implementation of the Peace Accord, as well as the broader peacebuilding context in the country (Part II).