On June 5th, Dr. Ian Marder attended the 74th Plenary Meeting of the European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC), a steering committee of the Council of Europe. Since January 2017, Ian has acted as Scientific Expert to the Council of Europe, for whom, alongside the Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP), he has been drafting a new Recommendation concerning restorative justice in criminal matters. Council of Europe Recommendations are not legally binding but provide guidance and advice for member States which wish to develop the policies and practices described therein.
According to the commentary to the Recommendation, the new documents have four key aims:
- to enhance the awareness, development and use of restorative justice in relation to member States’ criminal justice systems;
- to elaborate on standards for its use, thereby encouraging safe, effective and evidence‑based practice, and a more balanced approach to the conceptualisation and development of restorative justice than is implied by the Victims’ Directive;
- to integrate a broader understanding of restorative justice and its principles into the (comparatively narrow) 1999 Recommendation;
- and to elaborate on the use of restorative justice by prison and probation services, the traditional remit of the PC‑CP.
At the CDPC Plenary Meeting, the draft Recommendation and its commentary were analysed line-by-line by representatives from Council of Europe member States, in collaboration with Ian and the Chair and Secretariat of the PC-CP. Some amendments were made, and the updated drafts will be presented to the Committee of Ministers for approval later this year, after which the Recommendation will come into force.
This Recommendation presents those who work in restorative justice with a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about its potential in criminal justice, and to engage governments and criminal justice institutions in achieving a balanced, effective and strategic implementation across Europe.
Ian’s reflections on the meeting can be found here.