Gustavo Henrique Holanda Dias Kershaw
Centro Universitário Maurício de Nassau, Brazil
This article will look at the context in which restorative justice emerged, analysing its main characteristics and examine how restorative justice differs from conventional models. While recognising its positive aspects, this article explores some of the criticisms that show how the potential of restorative justice cannot be fully realised within the criminal justice system. It is argued that the ideals of restorative justice do not seem suitable for all types of crimes, all societies and all cultures. In addition to that, restorative justice empowers individuals, weakening the State, presupposes voluntariness from people involved in the conflict, something that does not always occur, and has a barrier that is difficult to overcome, that is social expectations around criminal justice.