Call: 4th Nepal Conference on Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs and obligations, in order to heal and put things right as possible. Restorative justice practice provides an opportunity for all concerned parties to express their feelings and discuss the roles that can be played to mitigate the harm that has already been caused. It reduces recidivism, increases safety, is more cost effective than the traditional justice process and helps create stronger communities. Victims are provided a voice, empowerment and can get a degree of satisfaction from interacting with the offender.
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Restorative Justice in Nepal The constitution of Nepal has made some provisions related to restorative Justice. Although the term restorative justice does not appear in the constitution, some articles seemed to touch upon the surface of restorative justice practice. It is stated as fundamental rights of every Nepali citizen. Article 21 deals with rights of victims of crime where a victim has the right to get the information about the ongoing investigation. The victim of crime shall have the right to justice along with social rehabilitation and compensation in accordance with law. Similarly, Article 51 (k) talks about the policies relating to the justice and penal system where the offender has the possibility to pursue alternative means such as mediation and arbitration for the settlement of disputes of general nature.
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The Restorative Justice movement in Nepal has begun in recent years in the context of transitional justice and calls for criminal justice reforms. With the provision of restorative justice enshrined in the Act Relating to Children 2018 and the provisions of probation and parole in Sentencing Act 2018, the rooms for RJ have been created. Likewise, Nepal’s post-conflict transitional justice works have created spaces for the application of restorative justice to address needs of justice, healing and reconciliation.
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In this regard, Nepal Forum for Restorative Justice (NFRJ) has been working to promote and establish restorative justice in Nepal and beyond through conferences, trainings, workshops, direct services, publications – all avenues possible. For three consecutive years from 2016-2018, NFRJ organized annual conferences, bringing together scholars and practitioners from around the globe.

For 2022, NFRJ is organizing an annual restorative justice conference again with a theme on (Re)integration of victims and survivors.

Objective of the 4th Nepal Conference

• To bring together scholars and practitioners working on the issues of reintegration of victims and survivors of crime and conflict.
• To explore the challenges involved and come up with ways ahead in the reintegration of victims and survivors.

Theme

For this year, the conference aims to focus on “Reintegration of survivors and victims”

Date and venue

The conference will be held on 25 November 2022, in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Paper presentations

Interested participants can send their concept notes related to the conference theme to
nfrjnepal@gmail.com before November 10, 2022.

Registration

This is a public event and there are no registration fees. Those interested to attend the conference can email to NFRJ at nfrjnepal@gmail.com by November 20, 2022.

[1]
http://www.nepaljustice.org/restorative-justice/
[2]

https://lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Constitution-of-Nepal.pdf
[3]

Tiwari,R. (2017). Restorative justice in Nepal: hopes and hiccups.
Newsletter of the European Forum for Restorative Justice 18(3):2-3