Panel Discussion Report: Indigenous and Restorative Justice Approaches (English, PDF)

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Publisher-reported update

2022-09-01

The virtual panel explored how Indigenous justice, RJ or customary law approaches are used in two First Nations and one Inuit context. The panel helped to highlight that while RJ principles may have strong parallels to Indigenous legal principles and traditions, they are not the same thing. Several panellists highlighted the fundamental importance of community relationships in Indigenous justice approaches and the goal of meeting the needs of the collective rather than focusing primarily on the reparation of harm for an individual. Canada’s adoption of the UN Declaration and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report provide support to Indigenous nations and groups that are asserting their rights to maintain and reclaim their own justice systems and legal traditions as an expression of the larger right of self-determination. The revitalization of Indigenous legal traditions creates opportunities to expand the use of Indigenous, RJ or customary law approaches within the existing Canadian legal system. However, it is also important to be aware that RJ processes that address criminal offending in Canada exist within the Canadian CJS, an adversarial punitive system that has been…

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