The ethic of traditional communities and the spirit of healing justice : a grounded comparative analysis of three communities

Sawatsky, Jarem

Abstract

More and more the language of healing justice is being used to point away from state-oriented justice and towards some kind of alternative. However, very little research explores the nature of healing justice. What is healing justice? Who practices it? What does it look like? What kinds of relationships are needed so sustain a more healing orientation to justice?

This thesis explores these questions through comparative case studies of three traditional communities which have, or are said to have, a practice of healing justice: Hollow Water, an Aboriginal community in Canada; the Iona Community, a Christian community in Scotland; and Plum Village, a Vietnamese-inspired Buddhist community in Southern France (which is home to the world-renowned Buddhist peacebuilder Thich Nhat Hanh).

Through field research conducted in partnership with these communities, I have searched for the kind of social, structural and spiritual relationships that are necessary to sustain a healing view of justice. Through comparative analysis I have found common patterns, themes, and imagination which these communities share. These commonalities among those that practice healing justice are then examined for their implications for wider society, particularly for restorative justice and criminal justice.

The findings of this research are groundbreaking for the fields of restorative justice and criminal justice. In this first international comparative study on healing justice, the research concludes that healing justice does exist as a phenomenon across three communities which differ in etbnicity, religion, language and geography. The major features of what sustains a healing way of justice, according to this study, are having particular relationships with the Earth, the Spirit, the collective, and with those who are suffering. Furthermore, healing justice is sustained by a consistence between the means and ends of healing justice and by using harms as an opportunity to unfold a healing justice paradigm.

Citation

Sawatsky, J. (2007). The ethic of traditional communities and the spirit of healing justice : a grounded comparative analysis of three communities. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4213672

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Feb 1, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 22, 2023
• Keywords: Law
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4213672
• Additional Information: Law School, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Oct 1, 2007