restorative justice
Retributive justice asks what punishment the offender deserves; restorative justice asks what harm was done and how it can be repaired. Its methods include victim-offender mediation, apology, restitution, compensation and community service, with the offender taking responsibility. It treats the victim as a party with a voice, not merely a witness for the State.
Indian criminal law contains several restorative elements: compounding of offences (s.359 BNSS, old s.320 CrPC), plea bargaining (Chapter XXIII BNSS), victim compensation (s.396 BNSS, old s.357A CrPC), probation, and community service as a punishment for some petty offences (s.4(f) BNS). The juvenile justice system is built around rehabilitation. Restorative justice supplements the criminal process; it is not suited to all serious crimes.
Example
Community service under s.4(f) BNS for a first-time petty theft reflects the restorative justice approach.
In Indian law
- Section 4(f), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (community service)
- Section 359, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (old s.320 CrPC): compounding
- Chapter XXIII, BNSS (plea bargaining)
See also
theories of punishment · compounding of offences · plea bargaining · probation
Read more in the study notes
- Restitution and restorative justice (Penology and Victimology)
- Protection of victims: compensation and treatment (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
- Reform of justice delivery: legal aid, Lok Adalats, ADR, Gram Nyayalayas, PIL and plea bargaining (Law and Social Transformation in India)
- Notion of punishment in law: meaning, history and purpose (Penology and Victimology)
- The problem of punishment: State force against citizens, kinds and theories of punishment (Political Science - State and Political Obligations)