Published on November 21, 2024 at 05:14.
4 mins. reading
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For the first time, the Balzan Prize rewards a figure who has distinguished himself in the field of restorative justice.
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It is the Australian professor, John Braithwaite, who will receive this distinction during a ceremony organized on November 21 at the Quirinal Palace in Rome.
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Switzerland has not yet legislated in this area and the Federal Council is slow to present a project.
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Camille Perrier Depeursinge, president of an association which works particularly in prisons, hopes to overcome reluctance.
For the first time, restorative justice is among the four subjects awarded the Balzan Prize, named after the international foundation based in Zurich and Milan, whose objective is to encourage culture, science and most meritorious humanitarian initiatives. A sign that this different and complementary approach to traditional criminal justice, which is not focused on punishing the guilty but on the needs of those affected by the offense, is increasingly establishing itself as a necessary and recognized model in Europe, but also in the world. This recognition is also an opportunity to emphasize that Switzerland is resolutely lagging behind in this area and that no proposal has yet passed the Federal Chambers.
The winner of the prize, presented in Rome this Thursday, November 21, is the Australian professor John Braithwaite, a sort of pope of the theoretical development and dissemination of contemporary restorative justice, applicable to armed conflicts, finance, health, crime, but also to the injuries of daily life. Justice assimilated to a healing process through, in particular, the establishment of supervised and supported meetings between victims and perpetrators. This practice, aimed at reconnecting and hearing each person’s experience, was magnificently showcased in the film I will always see your faces by French director Jeanne Herry.
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