Restorative Justice: Domestic and International Approaches (913M3)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Spring teaching

This module will provide scope for you to explore contemporary restorative justice developments in the United Kingdom and internationally.

The module starts by examining restorative justice theory and explores how its principles have been put into practice within the UK and in other countries. You will then examine the relationship between restorative justice and the state as well as the importance of the concept of 'community' in assessing whether restorative practices can repair harm. You will also look at whether restorative justice can be used in 'difficult' cases including domestic violence, hate crime and even homicide.

Finally, the module explores the use of restorative justice in countries where mass human rights violations have been committed – including genocide. Examples such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and the Gacaca courts in Rwanda are just some of the examples of how restorative principles might be used to help repair the harms of the most serious of all crimes.

Teaching

100%: Seminar

Assessment

100%: Written assessment (Essay)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 20 hours of contact time and about 280 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.