Restorative Justice And Recidivism: Evidence From India And Global Perspectives
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 hours ago
- 1 min read
Somya Suman, Gittaratan International Business School, GGSIPU
ABSTRACT
Criminal justice systems worldwide are increasingly questioning whether punishment alone can break cycles of reoffending. Restorative justice (RJ) responds to this concern by shifting focus toward healing and bringing victims, offenders, and communities together to address harm in ways that conventional courts rarely achieve. This paper explores how three principal RJ approaches victim-offender mediation, family group conferencing, and circle processes influence reoffending behavior across different crime categories and age groups, with particular attention to India's evolving justice landscape. Evidence drawn from meta-analyses and quasi-experimental research consistently points to meaningful, if modest, reductions in recidivism (d ≈ –0.11 globally), with younger offenders and well-structured programs responding most favorably. In India, while the spirit of restorative justice finds expression in the Juvenile Justice Act (2015) and community- based forums like Lok Adalat’s, a coherent national framework has yet to materialize. Barriers such as undertrained officials, low victim awareness, and procedural inconsistency continue to limit real-world impact. This paper contends that thoughtful, phased expansion of RJ is anchored in voluntary participation, facilitator competence, and contextual adaptation which holds genuine promise for reducing reoffending while making justice more humane and responsive to those it most directly affects.
