Restorative justice focuses on repairing the harm caused by crime, whereas retributive justice focuses on punishing an offense. Restorative justice is characterized by dialogue and negotiation among the parties, whereas retributive justice is characterized by adversarial relations among the parties. Further, restorative justice assumes community members or organizations take a more active role, whereas the community is represented by the state in retributive justice. The author believes restorative justice is superior to retributive justice but notes that there are many definitions of punishment and retribution. A restorative justice approach in Australia and New Zealand known as conferencing is described and evaluated as it is used to process juvenile offenders. An appendix contains additional information on differences between retributive and restorative justice. 12 references