This book provides cross-cultural analysis of restorative justice, examining its theoretical foundations and practical applications in the UK and China. Bringing together scholars from both regions, it highlights how cultural, philosophical, and legal traditions shape restorative justice frameworks, influencing policies, implementation strategies, and societal perceptions. It explores the historical development of restorative justice in each jurisdiction, analyzing the role of Confucian principles in China and common law traditions in the UK in shaping mediation, offender rehabilitation, and victim participation. The book also considers how restorative justice operates within formal legal structures and community-based initiatives, assessing its potential to enhance crime prevention and social cohesion.

Through empirical studies and theoretical perspectives, contributors investigate key areas including policing and youth justice, together with emerging topics such as environmental restorative justice. The book critically examines the challenges of integrating restorative practices within legal systems, assessing their effectiveness in reducing recidivism and fostering accountability. Case studies illustrate how restorative justice is applied in real-world contexts, offering comparative insights into its successes and limitations. The fruit of intercultural dialogue and multidisciplinary in scope, this book is an essential resource for criminologists and legal scholars seeking to understand the complexities of restorative justice in different socio-legal contexts.

Myra N. Blyth is a research fellow of Regent’s Park College within the University of Oxford, where she spent more than a decade as a tutorial fellow, and Principal Investigator on an Oxford-based restorative justice research programme (since 2014). Her publications include Forgiveness and Restorative Justice: Perspectives from Christian Theology (Palgrave, 2021), co-authored with Matthew Mills and Michael Taylor. She is also a board member of the Life and Peace Institute based in Sweden (Vice-President, 2019-2023) and a founding trustee of the Mint House: Oxford Centre for Restorative Practice (since 2017).

Matthew J. Mills is Vice-Principal of St Cuthbert’s Society and an honorary fellow in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. He is also a senior member of Regent’s Park College within the University of Oxford, where he held a lectureship in Medieval Studies, and a co-investigator on the restorative justice research programme led by Myra Blyth (since 2014). In addition to Forgiveness and Restorative Justice (with Blyth and Taylor), his recent publications include studies of monastic life and thought, and theological resonances in the work of the modern moral philosopher, Iris Murdoch.