Many victims of crime get to see justice being handed down in the courts, but it’s not always enough to help them move on with their lives.
International think tank IARS (Independent Academic Research Studies), based in London, in partnership with the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) and four additional European partners, have received a European Commission grant to lead a two-year restorative justice project, which will help to put new EU directive on victims into practice throughout Europe.
The directive was adopted by the Council of the European Union in October 2012 in order to establish minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime.
IARS will lead a partnership of organizations from five EU countries, with the additional support of eleven associate partners worldwide.
On 13 December, IARS and the Ministry of Justice are hosting a joint event at which Jeremy Wright, Justice Minister, and Dr Theo Gavrielides, Founder and Director of IARS, will officially launch the IARS project ,‘Restorative Justice in Europe: Safeguarding Victims and Empowering Professionals’ (RJE).
Professor Theo Gavrielides said: “This project could not have been more timely for victims. Enough money has been spent on top down policies and practices. With the support of our partners and government, this project will fundamentally change the way restorative justice is seen and delivered across Europe”.
The launch will be attended by representatives from each of IARS’ European partners: The Institute of Conflict Resolution (Bulgaria), the University of Applied Sciences for Public Administration Bremen (Germany), Restorative Justice Netherlands (The Netherlands) and the European Public Law Organization (Greece).
The partnership will produce victim-led training materials, codes, guidance and handbooks for their free use across Europe. All outputs will be based on evidence and pilots carried out within a variety of different European legal systems. This bottom-up, community-led approach aims to support the EU’s investment in restorative justice with evidence of how it can be used to strengthen the rights and welfare of both victims and offenders.
