Issues in the Implementation of Community Justice

Abstract

In light of numerous setbacks in mainstream justice operations, be they overloaded court cases or overcrowding of inmates, the Government has thus adopted the community justice process to solve such problems. Today there are more than four thousand Community Justice Centers and a network of justice communities of more than two hundred thousand people. Later in 2017, a Community Justice Bill was created, and the study found the overlapping problem between the current implementation of community justice and the Community Justice Bill if it were adopted. Therefore, this research on the implementation of community justice issues aims to study concepts, theories, policies and laws related to community justice of Thailand and abroad to analyze the operational problems of the community justice and to offer guidance for the effective implementation of the community justice. The qualitative research method consisting of document studies and legal comparison process as well as in-depth interviews was used. The results of the research revealed that the implementation of community justice has only one minor law order level, thus causing problems in terms of the operation structure of the Community Justice Center, Community Justice Center Committee, and members of the Community Justice Network. As a consequence, the Community Justice Act or local law should be promulgated to clarify the implementation and ensure that the Community Justice Center and the Community Justice Center Committee come from the community. Additionally, there should be an increase in the village community justice volunteers, an operating budget with compensation and office equipment, and a provision of training that meets the needs of the community.