Course

Critical Issues in Restorative Justice - LAWS8117

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2

Enrolment Requirements:

Pre-requisite: Academic Program must be 9200 or 9210 or 9230 or 5740 or 9285 or 5285 or 9235 or 5235 or 9220 or 5750.

Excluded: CRIM2022, CRIM3019, JURD7817

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

Restorative Justice (RJ) is a term that encompasses a range of non-adversarial approaches to criminal justice. These processes focus on engaging affected parties in decision-making aimed at repairing the harm caused by crime. The course will consider international developments in RJ, the major forms of RJ used in Australia (e.g. youth conferencing, forum sentencing) and related national and international developments (e.g. circle sentencing, transitional justice, truth and reconciliation commissions). The course will include critical analysis of RJ with reference to: its theoretical underpinnings, the social, political and cultural contexts in which it is used, and whether it is appropriate for some/all forms of offending/offenders

LLM Specialisations


Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Aims

  • Demonstrate an understanding of key concepts of restorative justice;
  • Engage in debate concerning restorative practices;
  • Undertake research in the field of restorative justice, and critically analyse restorative justice practices.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has successfully completed this course should be able to:
  • Demonstrate a sound understanding of key concepts in restorative justice;
  • Demonstrate a sound understanding of the suitability of restorative processes to particular situations;
  • Critically examine the use of restorative justice in contemporary criminal practice;
  • Examine restorative justice within the wider social and political context;
  • Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills;
  • Undertake legal research and writing in the field;
  • Undertake interdisciplinary research concerning restorative justice practice.

Main Topics

ADR
Conferencing
Criminal justice
Criminal law
Dispute resolution
Mediation
Non-adversarial practices
Restorative Justice

Assessment

Class participation 15%
Class presentation 15%
Research essay 70%

Course Texts

To be advised

Resources

A full up-to date reading list will be provided in the course outline.
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Study Levels

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