Reformative justice and parole legislation : a comparative analysis

Abstract

Reformative justice may, to some, sound a very high-sounding word. It may seem to imply a philosophical analysis into the various systems of punishment to find the system, apparently flawless, which truly reforms the offender. It does imply a reform, a change, which to some might sound too idealistic. No illusions must be made as regards a perfect reforming system of punishment, but attempts to ameliorate the present system of dealing with offenders must be encouraged. The subject of my dissertation is “Reformative justice and parole legislation : a comparative analysis”. This means that I am not concerned with Reformative Justice ‘ad hoc’ in its general meaning as a philosophical, quasi-utopic term which advocates simply a change in the ‘status quo ante’, but as the means, the foundation, of one of the most important corner-stones of modern penal policy : parole.