Recently, criminal justice has taken different considerations that indicate possible future changes in the overall application of the justice system. Restorative justice is a broad term which refers to institutionalization of peaceful approaches to addressing harm, problem-solving, and violations. This system has assisted improved criminal justice greatly by bringing the two parties (offender and the offended) to the same table for reconciliation. Under this system the offender seeks reparation directly or indirectly from the offended.
Restorative justice assists in addressing all the underlying issues that hold the offended captive until justice is done. During the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa after the oppressive regime of apartheid, it was possible for the offended to totally bring out their anger, grief, pain, and sorrow they encountered during apartheid. As indicated by Piaget's theory of personal development, what is in one's mind persists for long until such a time that the correct platform for expression is established.
Restorative justice therefore gives people the correct chances to forgive one another totally. As indicated by the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation commission, it becomes much easier to develop better relationship between the offender and the offended after the process. In adversarial legal process and civil litigation processes, lawyers simplify reduce the issues between the offenders and the offended to only legally relevant considerations to protect their clients.
However, restorative justice is better in that all aspects are addressed holistically and rehabilitation exclusively undertaken to enhance later coexistence and development. Restorative justice therefore assists in achieving the correct balance between the rights of the offenders and the needs of the victims. Besides, it strikes the balance between the need for rehabilitation of the offenders and the main duty to protect the public from such criminals. This system should therefore be encouraged due to its conterminously acceptable ideals at all levels (Jaimie, 2005).
