Abstract
This paper aims to evaluate four restorative justice programs in Taiwan: (1) a
mediation system; (2) deferred prosecution and conditional suspended sentence; (3) a youth
justice system; and (4) the Taiwan Restorative Justice Initiative. In this paper, models
proposed in Marshall (Restorative justice: An overview. London: Home Office, 1999) and
Braithwaite (British Journal of Criminology 42:563-577, 2002b) are used as criteria to
evaluate the four programs. Based on governmental documents, official statistics, and the
findings of previous empirical studies, this paper will examine whose needs and power is
focused and what types of value are highlighted in those four programs. This paper finds that
current restorative justice programs in Taiwan place greater emphasis on offenders than on
other parties such as victims and communities. In addition, maximizing and emergent
standards that Braithwaite identifies are implemented more in Taiwan's restorative justice
programs than constraining standards. This paper suggests that restorative justice practices in
Taiwan need to be more concerned with victims' needs and interests, and to strengthen
constraining types of restorative justice values.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 45-72 |
Journal | Crime and Criminal Justice International |
Volume | 19 |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |