On 25 March we were invited to contribute to the final symposium of the ‘Twinning project: Restorative Justice Suriname and the Netherlands’ at the Faculty of Law at Maastricht University, organized by Jacques Claessen.  

Researchers and professionals from Suriname and the Netherlands have started a collaboration to extend their knowledge of restorative justice, its origins in traditional practice, and how to apply it in various local contexts. Nicole Immler gave a lecture on the linkages between restorative justice, reparations, and transformative justice: How to deal with the colonial past within a restorative justice framework?   

The symposium made a lasting impression on us. It succeeded in creating a true dialogue: not only in terms of contents and aims, but also in form. Speakers represented traditional and modern authority from Suriname, Dutch and Suriname experts, village chiefs and captains from traditional communities and lawyers from Paramaribo, and legal as well as non-legal specialists. This resulted in a creative exchange, in which different types of scholarly and non-scholarly languages came together in a way that was understood by all. We have learned a lot about restorative justice practices, but also about the intricacies of ‘Dialogics’ that is so central to our research project. We hope for more cooperation in the future. – Niké Wentholt 

For more information: https://www.sdu.nl/blog/twinningfaciliteit.html