The editor of The Internet Journal of Restorative Justice, Professor Theo Gavrielides, is pleased to announce the publication of a Special Issue in 2018 of the Internet Journal of Restorative Justice on "Restorative Justice and Complex Cases".
 
Despite lack of formal national and international strategies for the use of restorative justice in many jurisdictions worldwide, we have witnessed a global push for further integration of restorative practices with complex crimes. For example, remarkably, the Province of Nova Scotia in Canada has developed a restorative justice programme for adults and young offenders and advocated for the use of the process in the context of serious crimes when appropriate. In Australia, the ACT’s restorative justice programme has been extended to provide support for victims of family violence and sexual assault.
 
The readiness and suitability of restorative justice in cases of complex and serious crimes remain largely unexplored and in-depth research is required. The identification and involvement of stakeholders is imperative. Particularly, research on the identification and involvement of stakeholders; the entitlement of stakeholders of complex and serious offences; the stage of the criminal justice system at which restorative justice processes and how sentences are distributed; the conditions at which restorative justice would be advantageous to all parties; and clarity on the consistent application of theoretical frameworks of restorative justice, among other issues, are key for further integration of restorative justice for complex and serious crimes.
 
The Internet Journal of Restorative Justice
 
The Internet Journal of Restorative Justice (IJRJ) is a double-blind, peer reviewed journal with a unique and practical approach to researching and investigating restorative justice. In 2017, the IJRJ published a 5 Year Celebration Special Issue. The primary aims of the journal are to publish scholarly and peer-reviewed articles of the highest standard from various areas of expertise including but not limited to restorative practices in schools, neighbourhoods, organisations and businesses, family matters and (youth) care, the criminal and juvenile justice systems, prisons, and the community. The IJRJ is published by RJ4All Publications, a non-profit publishing house specialising in social sciences and the publication of cutting edge research impacting on young people, human rights, restorative justice and crime.
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The IJRJ is available online via its website and Kindle Store and is indexed and abstracted by ORCID and Kudos, The European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS)  as well as Criminal Justice Abstracts. The Journal is also in the process of being indexed and ranked by Scopus.