Conclusion

This edited volume on Comparative Restorative Justice comes at a good time. This is not least because of the enduring crisis of mass imprisonment. Globally, there is a population the size of Belgium incarcerated with in many countries reconviction rates horribly high, or, even worse, not even known. In addition, victims and other parties frequently express their dissatisfaction with the criminal justice process. This is true for their actual involvement as well as with the representation of their interest in formal state central ‘regular’ criminal justice proceedings. State-centred justice is frequently perceived to be slow, technocratic, ritualistic and cold. Because of that victims frequently feel that the process is not, and seemingly never was meant to be, for them. It is little wonder that initiatives in many countries have sprung up to seek to remedy this situation. In doing so we can observe a few important trends.