ISSN 2736-1608
International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2463-5634 Vol. 8 (3), pp. 001-011, March, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
More conciliation and less punishment: Demanding a public choice
John Blad
Erasmus School of Law, P. O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, Room L 6 - 10. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 11 May, 2019
Abstract
The author argues that if societies wish to promote reconciliation and restoration in criminal matters, for which there are excellent reasons, the criminal codes need to be changed so as to allow for the procedures aimed at such reconciliation and restoration. Restorative justice and punitive justice fundamentally exclude each other both in the theoretical and political conception of aims and in procedural terms. The predominant aim of punishment in traditional criminal justice is discussed and demonstrated to be an impediment to reaching trustworthy results in terms of restorative justice. Therefore the substantive criminal code will have to identify the types of offences for which restorative procedures and aims are prioritized and also such types of offences for which the traditional response of punishment remains priority or even the exclusive response.
Key words: Restorative justice, reconciliation, punishment, restorable offences, criminal codes.