Op 26 april organiseert het Leuvens Instituut voor Criminologie een internationaal seminarie waarvoor geïnteresseerden zich gratis kunnen aanmelden. Er zijn maximaal 30 plaatsen. Ook coördinator Katrien Lauwaert is één van de internationale sprekers. Meer info omtrent het programma en de aanmeldprocedure, vind je via de link in de titel.
The restorative justice perspective is driven essentially by the principles of participation, harm reparation and healing, which are principles that must be central in conceiving environmental justice. Whereas communities, activists, scholars, and scientists have rightly focused most of their energies into developing laws and policy making that identify, recognize, regulate, condemn or punish actors of ecocide, corporations or other authors that perpetuate environmental crime and harms, many are slowly recognizing the value and potential of restorative responses to these problems, especially the alignment of a restorative philosophy that is embedded in indigenous justice and environmental justice. The restorative justice movement has likewise been slow in diverting its attention to the environmental field, but the links and potentials are now evident as testified by several publications and by concrete cases.
Despite its potential, environmental harm also raises several challenges to restorative justice, which are worth exploring. Who are the victims of environmental harm, how are their rights ensured and how can they have a voice in restorative processes? Who speaks on behalf of future or past generations and nature (animals, plants, rivers, land, climate)? What kind of expertise is required to adequately speak for the non-human? What are the criteria by which judgements around harm or victimisation are to be made? What are the criteria by which judgements around repair and restoration are to be made? How can we repair the irreparable? How can we assess who the perpetrators are and how can we ensure they participate in restorative processes?
This seminar is unique in trying to bring together scholars, activists and practitioners to dwell in depth into this intersection, creating a path for future research, commitments and engagements. Among our participants, we are especially honoured to have with us John Braithwaite, whose work in restorative justice has always been both foundational and pioneering. John and his team in Australia are among the first to have engaged in cases of restorative environmental justice. Other speakers include Claudia Mazzucato (Italy), Carolin Hillemanns (Germany), Femke Wijdekop, Anneke van Hoek and Bas van Stokkom (Netherlands), Maria Lucia Correia (Portugal), Ivo Aertsen and Katrien Lauwaert (Belgium).
Scholars either working or willing to explore this intersection with us are invited to the seminar, where sufficient time has been allocated to discussions and exchanges. We envision about 30 participants for the seminar. For questions please contact brunilda.pali@kuleuven.be.
There is no attendance fee, but online registration is mandatory.