Training in Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence

Background

The Poder Judicial de Costa Rica - Judiciary of Costa Rica, the Poder Judicial de Paraguay - Judiciary of Paraguay and the Poder Judicial de República Dominicana - Judiciary of the Dominican Republic - have a long history of working together within the framework of the Ibero-American Judicial Summit, as well as in other specialised regional and sub-regional areas, including the Central American and Caribbean Judicial Council and the Ibero-American Association of Therapeutic Jurisprudence, in which the Universidad de Vigo (Spain) and the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain) are also participants. They have led and actively participated in important processes in this field related to the analysis, promotion and implementation of Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence.

At the same time, the Poder Judicial de Costa Rica and the Poder Judicial del Estado de México / Centro Estatal de Mediación, Conciliación y de Justicia Restaurativa - Judiciary of the State of Mexico / State Centre for Mediation, Conciliation and Restorative Justice (Mexico) have jointly and successfully implemented a Triangular Cooperation project aimed at strengthening Restorative Justice in the region, co-financed by the ADELANTE Programme during its first phase. This exercise has led to a strong rapport and deep mutual understanding between the two entities.

It is also worth noting the long-standing relationship between the Judiciary of Costa Rica and the European Union, leading important initiatives and projects within the framework of the EUROsociAL and EL PAcCTo programmes, among others, and in continuous dialogue with Eurojust.

Entities and roles

First provider entities

Second provider entities

Development challenges

Thanks to this Triangular Cooperation Initiative, the Judiciary of Paraguay and the State Centre for Mediation, Conciliation and Restorative Justice of the State of Mexico were able to maximise all of this knowledge and experience for the design, implementation, development and consolidation of restorative processes of the Judiciary of Costa Rica, a benchmark in the sector, together with the Judiciary of the Dominican Republic. This has helped contribute to its goal of strengthening Restorative Justice, especially with regard to the use of appropriate technologies to guarantee access for the most vulnerable.

In addition, the Universidad de Vigo and the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela contributed by providing their methodological skills in the field, as well as their knowledge networks in Spain and Europe. 

Working under a partnership-based approach has enriched and strengthened all of the entities, since the particular experiences of each one was the subject of analysis and debate for the mutual benefit of the others, as was the case during the implementation of the Triangular Cooperation project within the framework of the first phase of the ADELANTE Programme. In particular, the application of this expertise in contexts such as Paraguay and the State of Mexico resulted in a large body of knowledge, which in turn has enriched and strengthened all of the entities and the Partnership; especially those related to Indigenous Peoples and Restorative Justice within the context of families.

In addition, the active participation of all the entities of the Partnership in regional and subregional networks and specialised platforms will facilitate knowledge sharing with key actors in both Europe and Latin American and the Caribbean, far beyond the framework of the Partnership itself, thus enabling significant scaling up in this area.

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative strengthened the capacities of the Partnership member entities to design, implement, develop and consolidate restorative processes, harnessing the potential that technology offers to guarantee access to such processes for vulnerable groups.

Triangular approach

Restorative Justice is an innovative and highly effective alternative to conflict resolution.

Because of its innovative nature and its aim of addressing the needs of the most vulnerable communities, it is a constantly evolving field. This has led to the permanent need to build a knowledge base, both thematic and specialised, and successfully apply it. In the case of the development of appropriate technologies and adapting to working virtually, this has been accelerated by a number of actors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This Initiative made it possible to share, synthesise and support the application of these insights, making them available to a number of entities committed to restorative processes; giving them priority and adapting to their respective contexts. Thanks to this joint work, the lessons learned have been gathered and are available to all actors in the sector, both in Latin America and the Caribbean and in Europe. In addition, a relevant awareness-raising exercise was carried out, aimed at both the general public and specialists in the field. In this latter case, this topic was incorporated into academic training programmes.

Sectoral approach - Contribution to the 2030 Agenda

Primary SDG

Goal 16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all

Secondary SDG

Goal 5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere

ADELANTE SDG

Goal 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Goal 17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

Territorial approach

Intervention methodology

The cornerstone of this Initiative was the International Conference on Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence, in which professionals from all of the Partnership member entities and other key actors from the countries involved worked together. The participants were primarily from the public sector, but community leaders and social representatives were also present. The success of this activity in terms of the quality of the approach, content and speakers, and its contribution to the objectives of the Initiative, was further enriched by its ability to raise awareness among decision-makers and professionals in the sector.

The conference took place in person in Costa Rica and, thanks to its hybrid format, allowed for the participation of representatives from a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The main outcome of the Conference was a publication compiling the main contents, serving as an input to share and encourage the application of the knowledge generated beyond the Partnership.

In preparation for the Conference, a workshop on good practices was held, in which the Partnership entities shared their knowledge and recent experiences in order to synthesise and prioritise them, depending on interests and synergies.

A professional consultant also provided support through a cross-cutting approach in the planning, organisation and development of content for both activities, in complete collaboration with all Partnership entities.

Direct beneficiaries (individuals)

According to Rule 9 of the Guidelines for Applicants: all persons participating in the activities of the Initiative.

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative had 492 direct beneficiaries, the vast majority of whom were public officials or civil servants from national public entities in the Justice system, joined by a group of university representatives and academics, as well as community leaders and social sector representatives.

The International Conference on Restorative Justice and Therapeutic Jurisprudence, the main activity in this Initiative, was attended by judiciary members as well as professionals from the Partnership entities, joined by professionals from other public entities in the participating countries in this field. Because of the public nature of these entities, the majority of participants were public officials or civil servants. Community leaders and representatives of civil society organisations with expertise in the field were also present.

Budget

EU contribution: 75,133.64 €

Co-financing - Triangular Cooperation Partnership: 25,927.00 €

Total budget: 101,060.64 €

The information gathered in this IMPACT section is the result of the first 'joint ex post analysis exercise' of the Initiative which, as foreseen in the policy framework of the ADELANTE Window, took place one year after the end of the implementation period.

For more information on these exercises, please consult the ADELANTE Window 2021 Impact Report.

Continuity of the Partnership

STARTING POINT: Existing South-South relationship that was strengthened with the incorporation of EU partners as Second providers.

The Partnership, as such, has been strengthened and maintained over time.

The dynamic of collaboration and joint work between all the Partnership member entities in the core areas of the Initiative has been maintained.

In addition, new entities have been incorporated.

Cooperación TriangularIncorporation of the Judicial Power of the Dominican Republic.

Application of generated knowledge

The knowledge generated has been applied by all Partnership member entities.

In addition, it has been widely disseminated at the international level, which has allowed it to be shared and applied beyond the scope of the Partnership member entities.

Cooperación TriangularParticipation in the VII Ibero-American Congress on Therapeutic Justice.

During its implementation, the Initiative involved final beneficiary groups (civil society organisations and users of Restorative Justice). The Partnership member entities have continued to work closely with these groups, even extending the scope, who have benefited and have applied the knowledge generated during the Initiative and afterwards.

Impact

Applying this knowledge has enabled the Beneficiary entities to successfully tackle the development challenge that gave rise to the Initiative with the necessary quality and guarantees. At the same time, the other Partnership member entities have increased the impact of their interventions.

FACTORS THAT HAVE ENABLED THE IMPACT:

The relevant partnership framework designed during the implementation of the Initiative.

The appropriate framework of collaboration designed during implementation of the Initiative, which has allowed for policy and institutional support at the highest level and has been widely acknowledged by civil society.

The establishment of lines of action with a timeframe beyond the implementation period.

FACTORS THAT HAVE HINDERED IMPACT:

-

Future perspectives

Continue the Partnership’s work dynamics and openness towards new entities.

Continue to make progress in applying knowledge by all Partnership member entities.

Continue to make progress in the transfer of knowledge to the beneficiary groups, monitoring and evaluating the impact in their respective areas of intervention.

 


NEW EX POST EXERCISE:

Yes (2024)

 

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