Exploring the Limits of the Restorative Justice Paradigm: Restorative Justice and White-Collar Crime

Part I of this article introduces the restorative justice paradigm. It defines restorative justice and its basic values and principles and presents two theories which illustrate the goals of restorative interventions and the basic requirements for their commencement. Part II introduces white-collar crime and focuses on high-profile white-collar crime committed by corporate executives. This part discusses the centrality of white-collar crime within the criminal justice system and society in general and reviews the latest developments in legislation and sentencing policies on white-collar crime.

Part III argues that the restorative justice paradigm should be applied to high-profile white-collar crime as a matter of principle, and as part of the sentence imposed on the offender, not instead of it. Part IV presents a model for restorative responses to white-collar crime inspired by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and demonstrates how this process model fulfills the important themes and conditions required of such an intervention. The article concludes by calling upon the criminal justice system and restorative justice advocates to combine efforts and examine the applicability and appropriateness of integrating a restorative component within the public response to white-collar crime.