Revolving-door justice

The Centre for Sustainable Justice explains on its website (www.sustainablejustice.org) how one of the biggest obstacles to sustainable justice is the adversarial nature of the courts. This becomes crystal clear when one visits Alice Springs’ local court and looks at the crimes addressed there. It seems apparent that we must move from an adversarial model to a cooperative model, one where the paramount factors are sustainability, the social ecology, and the quality of interpersonal relationships in our community. This would need the engagement of the judicial powers in improving the social ecology and the

provision of a framework for developing a judicial system which is of greater help to our community as a whole.

The introduction of mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, the development of Drug Courts, Problem-Solving Courts, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Restorative Justice, and the increased focus on integrated conflict resolution, are all signs that the impact of global sustainability has reached the judicial system in Australia. This shift has introduced a new focus in court justice, towards a better future: the improvement of the relationships between parties involved in litigation, and the resolution of crime-related problems in our communities. This shift started in the 1980s and will eventually work through into the whole legal system. In the Northern Territory, it seems long overdue. The sustainable justice perspective unlocks a vision of the justice system and forms an inspiring guiding principle for future courts. The principles of sustainable justice and social responsible justice will revamp the justice system and give it a new allure and it opens new perspectives for transparency in the administration of justice.