ABSTRACT
Several unique themes emanate from the practice of community restorative justice within the transitional context. While these themes emerged in the particular context of Northern Ireland's journey from conflict to peace, a number of them can be generalised to other transitional and indeed settled societies. For example, it is important to note that these now thriving community restorative justice projects did not emerge as part of a grand peacemaking plan. In particular, restorative justice did not form part of the initial community discussions around a non-violent alternative to paramilitary punishment violence (Winston 1997; McEvoy and Mika 2001). Indeed, it was pure coincidence that key individuals were found in each community who could provide a framework of restorative justice for their practice. Without these individuals, who brought with them a strong commitment to non-violence and restorative justice, these unique efforts at peacemaking may not have been established in their current form, which has proven successful in these endeavours far beyond what was originally imagined.
