What Can Mainstream Courts Learn from Problem-Solving Courts?

Abstract

This article analyses key principles underlying problem-solving court processes in the light of therapeutic jurisprudence and suggests how mainstream courts can use them. Therapeutic jurisprudence -- the study of the effect of laws and legal processes on well-being -- has become problem-solving courts' underlying ethos. It suggests that findings from the behavioural sciences can inform the development of legal processes. Therapeutic jurisprudence principles also underlie another court innovation: Indigenous sentencing courts.

Keywords: problem-solving courts, mainstream courts, paternalism, judicial intervention, self-determination

JEL Classification: K0, K00, K19, K29, K42