Description

The Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement of 2002 committed the government to reducing Aboriginal contact with the criminal justice system, partly through the introduction of Koori courts as a part of the criminal court system. The objectives, legislative base, jurisdiction, sentencing powers and operations of the courts are described. In an evaluation study described in the presentation, key factors identified were acknowledgement of traditional custodians, elders and respected persons, individual and community responsibilitiy, community cohesiveness, a sense of being a part of the process. These are the PowerPoint slides used as the basis of a conference paper presented at the ‘Cultural healing in criminal justice service delivery: an identification of best practice and innovation to inform further service design’: National Indigenous Justice CEO Forum held in Brisbane in 2007. They contain a series of talking points focusing on the introduction of Koori Courts into the Victorian criminal justice system, however they do not provide any weighty analysis or discussion.

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