LAW589

Restorative Justice

(Loparco, Christopher & Durant)

Prerequisite courses: LAW420 Criminal Law

Prerequisite for:

Instructor(s): Deputy Chief Justice Joanne Durant (Court of Justice), Justice Anna Loparco (Court of King's Bench) and Justice Michelle Christopher (Court of Justice)

Course credit: 3

Method of presentation: See below

Teamwork: YES

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will introduce students to the theory and practice of Restorative Justice, including current Restorative Justice processes such as s. 19 conferences under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, victim-offender dialogues, traditional healing circles with elders, sentencing circles, and transformative justice practices.  This will include learning about the current Restorative Justice Project within the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, the use of RJ in sentencing as enabled by the Criminal Code, and the Prosecution Service referral Guidelines and criteria, including for serious crimes such as manslaughter and sexual assault. 

METHOD OF PRESENTATION

This course consists of two parts: (i) an experiential learning component with a Restorative Justice Agency or First Nation including a pre-session orientation in preparation for an RJ session and the RJ session; AND (ii) evening weekly seminar. These components are designed to provide substantive legal and experiential teachings necessary to develop an understanding of the use of RJ in criminal and family matters; to encourage an understanding of traditional Indigenous practices and customs; and to share information necessary for an appreciation of alternate means of achieving justice. After completing this course, students will be able to: understand the origins and history of Restorative Justice, including the use within the formal legal system across Canada and internationally; appreciate the connection between criminality, family dysfunction and social disruption; understand trauma-informed practices, examining its treatment of victims of crime, Indigenous people and Black Canadians, people with substance use and mental health disorders, and marginalized people in society; describe how restorative justice repairs the harm to the victims, the family, and the community by understanding the root cause of the offending behaviour, explores pathways to services that promote healing and recovery, and results in tailored sentencing methods that lead to reduced recidivism; recognize factors such as power imbalances, pressure, gender-based, domestic, or intimate partner violence so as to ensure safety measures are in place for RJ; understand the criteria of the Prosecution Service’s Guidelines for referrals. 

METHOD OF EVALUATION

This course has a seminar component and an experiential learning component. Students must complete both components, with the letter grade based on the seminar component, while the experiential learning component will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Evaluation for the seminar component will involve an in-class presentation on a topic approved by the instructors (worth 50% of the course grade) and a written report on a topic approved by the instructors (worth 50% of the course grade). The experiential learning component will entail participation in a mandatory half-day (3 hour) agency orientation and preparatory work for a restorative justice session; a mandatory observation of 1 full-day restorative justice session (victim-offender dialogue, sentencing circle, or healing circle); and a final report of observations and learning.

Students must complete both seminar-based and clinical/experiential components of this course in order to pass, although a letter grade will be assigned on the basis of in-class presentations and written work. 

There are three assignments: 

1. "You be the Judge" - Observe counsel submissions in class in a mock sentencing hearing, prepare to render a decision, submit your notes/summary of your decision, deliver your decision in class. Individual work.

2. Comparative Sentencing Analysis - Group work with 2-4 other students. Choose an RJ service provider from an approved RJ agency, attend and observe "specialized” court/RJ process on at least one occasion, attend and observe Court sentencing proceedings any day of the week, and participate in a group presentation in class. Weight: 30% of final grade. Group work.

3. Individual Research Paper - Meets upper year writing requirement and must be on an approved topic, ideally arising from your experience/observations/reflections with your selected RJ service provider. Weight: 50% of final grade. Individual work.

Note: The clinical component is dependent on the availability of service providers and matters that can be observed by students during the course.  If this is not possible, students will be evaluated by the seminar component alone. The report and in-class presentation will then be based on an approved research topic instead of the clinical component. 

EXAMINATIONS

No exam in this seminar course.

GRADING

A student’s final grade for the course is the sum of the separate assignments.  It is not necessary to pass each assignment separately in order to pass the course, but absent exceptional circumstances, it is also necessary to work with your selected, approved RJ agency to attend and observe the RJ process to satisfy the clinical component of the course.

MISSED OR LATE ASSIGNMENTS*

If students miss a required component of the course, they must contact the instructor in writing within 24 hours to discuss options to submit and/or make-up for that component. Assignments submitted after the deadline may be penalized with the loss of a grade (e.g.: A- to B+) for each day late.

EXPECTATIONS FOR WRITING

All written assignments (including, to a lesser extent, written exam responses) will be assessed at least partly on writing skills. Writing skills include not only surface correctness (grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.) but also general clarity and organization. Sources used in research papers must be properly documented. If you need help with your writing, you may use the writing support services in the Learning Commons. For further information, please refer to the official online University of Calgary Calendar, Academic Regulations, E. Course Information, E.2: Writing Across the Curriculum: https://calendar.ucalgary.ca/pages/2c2d1ce47b8c4d008aec9cc3da49876e

SPECIAL COMMENTS

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will examine how these processes fit within the traditional adversarial system, their advantages and disadvantages, and the role and responsibility of a lawyer with respect to each process.

Students will develop an awareness of factors, including ethical, Indigenous, cultural, power imbalances, gender-based, domestic violence, and intimate partner violence, and the impact on children that may affect the choice or appropriateness of specific processes.

Students will also be introduced to tools and techniques that apply to various processes, including preparatory work with the parties, family, and the community, agreements to ensure voluntary participation, and respect for Indigenous cultures and traditions.  The focus will be on how bringing restorative practices into the formal legal system can legitimize alternative, culturally appropriate pathways to justice.

LEARNING RESOURCES

Please see Course Syllabus

Description updated 2026-27. Please contact the instructor for any specific questions you may have related to this particular course section.

REQUIRED TEXTS (IF ANY)