Restorative Justice Responses to Harm in Institutions

Harm that occurs within organisations raises complex issues, specifically due to the nature of the setting. Beyond its serious impact on individuals, it also affects the organisation (or institution) itself and the broader society around it. Because of this complexity, such cases require special attention from those who address them—including facilitators of restorative justice processes. A high-quality restorative process can potentially meet the needs of those affected in ways that criminal justice systems often cannot.

These organisations can vary in type—religious, workplace, sports, educational, etc. They may be formal institutions or other, less formal organisational settings. (In the title of the Summer School, we use the term "harm in institutions" because it is more widely understood.)

The Summer School will explore key concepts and considerations related to the nature of abuse in organisations and restorative justice responses to it. It will also dedicate significant time to the introduction of practical approaches and the examination of case studies through participatory learning activities.

The two participant groups—English and Spanish speakers—will work in parallel most of the time, with a number of shared sessions between them. Interpretation will be provided when necessary.

The programme will also include study visits to local restorative justice organisations.

Tim Chapman will be the principal trainer in the English speaking group. Tim had a lengthy career in the Probation Service in Northern Ireland rising to a senior management position. He spent 10 years as a lecturer and course director of the Masters programme in Restorative Practices at the University of Ulster. He now teaches at the University of Sassari, Italy, as a Visiting Professor and at The University of Strathclyde as a Visiting Professor. He also offers training, research and consultancy in restorative justice. He has conducted training in restorative justice theory and practices from foundation level to specialist training throughout the world. He has published widely in effective probation practice, youth justice and restorative justice. He is currently writing a book based upon his research into victims’ experience of restorative justice and doing research into the oral histories of victims of clerical child sexual abuse. He has been a board member and chair of the European Forum for Restorative Justice. Tim has developed, designed and facilitated  training courses with women who have lived experience of restorative justice and sexual violence and domestic abuse. He continues to practice and is leading two major restorative justice programmes addressing institutional sexual abuse. This has involved engaging with over 50 survivors of clerical child sexual abuse.  

Raúl Calvo Soler (Ph.D) is a specialist in restorative justice, restorative responses to abuse in organisations and institutions, and training. He holds a PhD in Legal Sciences and is a professor at the University of Buenos Aires, the University of San Andrés and the Argentine Judicial School, where he teaches courses on restorative processes and conflict resolution. He directs juvenile and adult justice programmes in Córdoba and San Juan, and has supervised teams in Navarra, Spain. He was coordinator of the restorative practices programme of the Argentine Rugby Union, ‘Rugby2030. Towards a new culture’. He directs the ‘Formamos personas’ programme of the Catalan Rugby Federation for the pedagogical development of rugby clubs' schools. He played a key role in community and business programmes, such as the restorative space in the Vicentin competition. In international research, he has promoted restorative responses to corporate and environmental abuse. He is director of the Centre for Restorative Research (UdeSA) and author of works on juvenile justice, corporate justice and the transformation of the judicial process. He has provided training in Spain, Italy, Latin America and Brazil.

Participation Fee

EFRJ members get a discount of the fee. The discount is automatically applied to members (only after logging in to our website). If you haven't paid your membership due for the current year yet, you will not get the discount automatically. If you don't get the discount for any other reason, please contact Bálint Juhász to get your discount code before you fill in your application. 

Is the participation fee a barrier for you to participate? We can offer a limited number of partial waivers of the fee. If you would like apply for these please fill in this application form by 20th April 2025.  The applications will be reviewed after that, and responses will be sent by 24th April evening. 

The Summer School is a residential event. We encourage participants to get the full experience by staying at the same accommodation. However, you may organise your own accommodation and register for the Summer School by contacting us for a special registration code. For this option the following prices apply: 

Cancellation Policy 

If you cancel your participation before 20th April 2025 you get 70% refund of your subscription fee. If you need to cancel after 1st May 2025 your participation for a 'vis major' reason (including Covid-19 infection), and you can provide a proof of this, you may get a voucher for another EFRJ event in the future in the value of maximum 50% of your registration price. In other cases we cannot refund your registration fee.  
You may transfer your registration to another participant without any costs until 9th June 2025 (in case there are available spots). 

The Basque Institute of Criminology is an academic institution within the University of the Basque Country, a public University. Prof. Antonio Beristain was the founder of this Institute in 1978 and the first Basque and Spanish academician promoting restorative justice. Some years ago, within the Basque Institute of Criminology, the Restorative Justice & Practice Lab was founded by Gema Varona, Alberto Olalde and Idoia Igartua.

The study visist will be hosted by the Restorative Justice Services (for adults and juveniles) and Ombudsman's Office of the Basque Government.