- Title
- Restorative justice approach in the criminal justice system of Bangladesh: a comparative study
- Creator
- Islam, Mohammad Saidul
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2025
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Since the emergence of restorative justice (RJ), it has been riding on a wave of popularity for its proven benefits in satisfying the parties’ needs and reducing recidivism, costs, disposal time, and case backlog. As such, more than 120 countries have adopted this mechanism in their criminal justice systems (CJS). in response to those problems. As RJ is successful in other jurisdictions in response to these problems which Bangladesh also face, some Bangladesh scholars called to introduce RJ in CJS in Bangladesh against these backdrops. Therefore, this research focuses on how an RJ mechanism can be developed in CJS in Bangladesh based on commonly recognised RJ principles and values, practices in other jurisdictions and Bangladeshi culture. To this end, this research used a mixed method of data analysis. This thesis firstly undertakes a comprehensive content analysis of texts to identify the most common principles and values widely recognised in RJ scholarship and state practices. The analysis identified a total of 21 principles and 33 values from the selected literature. Among them, nine principles and six values, which frequently and consistently recur in the literature, suggest a clearer approach to best RJ practices. Further, this thesis draws on practical examples from several countries that have a successful history of RJ practices, including Australia, the United States of America (the US) and India. A systematic review followed by meta-analysis was conducted to assess the potential outcomes of RJ practices in criminal settings in Australia and the US. Findings suggest that RJ is more effective than formal court proceedings in reducing recidivism and enhancing the participants` satisfaction. It is worth noting that India was not examined in this systematic review due to the unavailability of scholarly works. Prior to making recommendations about developing RJ mechanisms in Bangladesh, this thesis undertook another content analysis to identify whether any existing relevant practices resonate with the identified RJ principles and values. This thesis found that, in Bangladesh, 41 statutes contain several provisions reflecting some aspects of RJ practices, but only four statutes, specifically, the Children Act 2013, the Village Court Act 2006, the Dispute Resolution (Municipal Area) Board Act 2004, and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898, included four settlement mechanisms that partially adheres to restorative principles and values. The other 37 statutes have little reference to RJ. As a result, they are not covered in this thesis. Furthermore, it was found that the community-based Shalish, the most popular method of dispute settlement in Bangladesh, partially echoes the RJ principles and values and applies to perpetrators of any age. Finally, to align international RJ practices with Bangladeshi culture, this thesis collected data through semi-structured interviews with Bangladeshi legal scholars and local Shalishkars (facilitators/mediators), followed by a thematic analysis to develop culturally appropriate principles and values-oriented RJ practices in Bangladesh. The thematic analysis subsequently informed recommendations involving significant changes to various stages of existing processes, which are also the key findings of this PhD research work.
- Subject
- restorative justice; criminal justice; recidivism; satisfaction of the parties; RJ in Australia; RJ in the US
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1518851
- Identifier
- uon:57384
- Rights
- Copyright 2025 Mohammad Saidul Islam
- Language
- eng
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