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5.1 Restorative Justice and the Individual Criminals
Criminal justice systems, both nationally and internationally, focus on the perpetrator of crimes. The central person in the criminal trial is the perpetrator as defendant, and it is his or her rights in the process which are usually the subject of attention. Certainly, restorative justice has a role for the perpetrator, and through trial and imprisonment works to restore harmony in the community through restoring the wrongdoer to the community. If there is no chance of restoration, the wrongdoer has no process for acknowledgement of crimes, for forgiveness, and even no process for accepting appropriate punishment. Unless the wrongdoer can be included in the restorative process, there is no choice but to remain an “out-law”,
But the boundary between perpetrators and victims may not be clear. A specific problem in the Cambodian story has been that perpetrators have themselves been victims. For example, child prisoners of the Khmer Rouge were brutalized and themselves became perpetrators. The brutalization of children and their use as perpetrators is also known in other conflicts, for example in Uganda and in Sierra Leone.
5.2 Restorative Justice and the Individual Victims:
Generally speaking, trial systems which focus on the perpetrator are not sufficiently attentive to the individual victims. Indeed, the process of a trial, with its necessary testing of evidence, may operate to "re-victimise" the victim. Restorative justice demands a process in which the restoration of the victim is also a key focus. At the international level, the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda gradually developed procedures for the protection and counselling of witnesses, usually victims. The procedures of the new International Criminal Court have taken a step forward by providing for compensation for victims, as well as protection and counselling.
6. Distributive Justice
Distributive justice is concerned with the allocation of resources and of opportunities within a society - including international societies. The concept of distributive justice underlies the International Covenant