Communities in restorative justice

Insights from Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace

Bibliographic Data

ID24218409
AuthorsLorena Cecilia Vega Dueñas (0000-0003-0852-5074, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana), Juliette Vargas (Colombian-German Institute for Peace (CAPAZ)), Laura Ordóñez-Vargas (0000-0002-0755-0158, Universidad del Rosario)
Year2026
Volume11
Publication date2026-09-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2297-7775 • E-ISSN: 2297-7775
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fsoc.2026.1936377
OpenAlexW7214193709
LanguageEN
References cited26

While restorative justice recognises communities and victims as distinct key stakeholders, important questions remain about how these categories should be distinguished and why community participation is necessary, particularly in transitional justice contexts where systematic violence may directly affect entire human groups and territories. This article addresses these questions through a conceptual analysis of Colombia’s Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), focusing on Macrocase 05. It argues that, in transitional settings, the distinction between communities and collective subjects recognised as victims becomes blurred, thereby challenging the differentiated roles traditionally assigned to victims, offenders and communities in restorative justice models developed for interpersonal conflicts. Far from constituting a conceptual inconsistency, this convergence is a defining feature of the JEP’s restorative model and contributes to broadening the conventional understanding of the role of communities in restorative justice.

Colombian armed conflict · Community participation · Restorative justice · Special Jurisdiction for Peace · Transitional justice · Victims · victims' rights · Conflict, Peace, and Violence in Colombia · Criminal Justice and Penology · War, Law, and Justice

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