Jacques Claessen - Restorative justice. The art of an emancipated crime approach - Inaugural address_1.pdf
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… Amsterdam: Forum, 2007, p. 73, 94 and 161. 8 We find the same message with Plato. In his work on the State, this Greek philosopher from the fourth century BC lets his teacher Socrates discuss the question of what constitutes good behav- iour with someone called Polemarchos. He holds the view that a person behaves well when they give others what they deserve, which, according to Polemarchos, means owing positive things to friends. When Socrates then asks him about enemies, he replies: ‘What you … becoming worse and behaving worse. Plato lets Socrates conclude as follows: ‘We therefore conclude that a person does not behave well if, as a result of his behaviour, another person suffers badly, even if that other person is an enemy. (...) So if someone says that good behaviour means treating one’s fellow human beings accord- ing to what they deserve, and if for him this then means that a man ought to treat his enemies badly, he thereby shows a lack of insight, for we observe that it can never … definitions, see among others: J. Claessen & K. Roelofs, ‘Herstelrecht(voorzieningen) en mediation in strafzaken’, in: J. Boksem, P. Mevis, D. Paridaens, C. Waling & H. Wolswijk (red.), Handboek strafzaken, Deventer: Wolters Kluwer 2020, chapter 49 (online). http://www.restorativejustice.org 16 wilfully. As far as distributive justice is concerned, both restora- tive justice and the Golden Rule at least imply the refusal to harm another human being – even when that other human being has com- …