ABSTRACT
This chapter examines number of reasons for considering restorative justice (RJ) as an additional justice mechanism in cases of sexual violence along with the legal considerations that must be countenanced in enabling RJ and criminal justice to co-exist for sexual violence cases. The main differences between common law and civil law (also known as continental law) systems of justice lie in the main sources of law, as both emerge from different historical trajectories: feudalism in the case of common law jurisdictions and Roman and Canon law in the case of civil law countries. Rather RJ is seen to complement criminal justice by offering victims, offenders and communities a menu of justice options that promotes greater victim participation, offender accountability and community involvement in justice delivery. The chapter considers the four important due process rights in the context of RJ: Right to the presumption of innocence, Right against self-incrimination, Right to a fair trial and Right to legal representation.
