RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT, RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTONOMY AT THE SERVICE OF A CULTURE OF PEACE

Abstract

The present paper arises from the approximation between Restorative Justice theory (Zehr) and Local Development theory (Ávila). The focus of Restorative Justice is giving voice for those who are concretely involved in the conflict (victim, offender, community), and then their needs are identified and fulfilled, as well as the obligations from the damages are outlined. Pain causation (prison sentence) loses its pedestal in the management of the conflict, for solutions that promote reparation, security, trust and reconciliation are sought. Local Development, on the other hand, is a new development philosophy for the planet which seeks to encourage microdynamicsof self-sustaining promotion of the communityand its gradual emancipation from external assistance dependence. For Local Development theory it is important to endogenize skills and abilities of the community, then it assumes its own development process, with autonomy, which means without dependence. Thus, we infer that the approximation between Restorative Justice theory and Local Development theory is really promising, for both of them bet on endogenizing skills of the community, either to nurture its particular development process or to manage its conflicts in a restorative and reconciling way. We conclude that both of those perspectives contribute to the promotion of a culture of peace, with emphasis on local empowerment and a sense of responsibility and autonomy, which is hampered by hegemonic models of development and also by official models of criminal justice.