“Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of leaders…and millionshave been killed because of this obedience…Our problem is that people are obedient allover the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves… (and) the grand thieves are running the country. That’s our problem.” Howard Zinn
Biography
Professor Theo Gavrielides, PhD, is a legal philosopher and a restorative justice expert. He is the Founder and Director of the Restorative Justice for All (RJ4All) International Institute, which aims to advance community cohesion and redistribute power through education and the values of restorative justice. He is also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of RJ4All Publications, which is the publishing arm of the RJ4All International Institute. In 2021, Professor Gavrielides received The Liberty of the Old Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey award as part of the Southwark Civic Awards 2020 for his contribution to the community during difficult times.
In 2001, he founded The IARS International Institute, a user-led charity. In 2020, almost 20 years since IARS’ establishment, he stepped down.
Dr. Gavrielides is also a Visiting Professor at the University of East London, Distinguished Policy Fellow at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (REGNet), Australian National University, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Criminology of Simon Fraser University (Canada) as well as a Visiting Professor at Buckinghamshire New University (UK). In the past, he served as a Visiting Professorial Research Fellow at Panteion University of Social & Political Science (Greece) and as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research (ICCCR) at Open University (UK).
He is the Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journals:
- International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare
- Youth Voice Journal
- Internet Journal of Restorative Justice
Some of his volunteering roles include being a trustee of the Anne Frank Trust, a Governor at Albion Primary School, an Advisory Board Member of the Institute for Diversity Research, Inclusivity, Communities and Society (IDRICS) and as a Member of the Scrutiny and Involvement Panel of the Crown Prosecution Service.
Previously, he was the Chief Executive of Race on the Agenda, a social policy think-tank focusing on race equality. He also worked at the Ministry of Justice as the Human Rights Advisor of the Strategy Directorate. There, he worked on the Human Rights Insight Project, which aimed to identify strategies that will further implement the principles underlying the Human Rights Act and improve public services. He also advised on the Ministry’s Education, Information and Advice strategy. During 2002-2004, he worked as a Researcher at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
He is also a legal counsel specialising in criminal law, human rights and EU law. He taught criminal law and common law reasoning and institutions at the University of London, and have acted as a human rights and criminal justice advisor for various chambers and policy bodies including the Independent Advisory Group of the London Criminal Justice Partnership.
He obtained a Doctorate in Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (PhD, 2005) and a Masters in Human Rights Law from Nottingham University (LL.M in Human Rights Law, 2000). He graduated from the Faculty of Laws of the National University of Athens and practised law at Gavrielides & Co.
Prof. Gavrielides has published extensively. His 2007 monograph “Restorative Justice Theory and Practice” was published by the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI) and his 2021 monograph “Power, Race & Restoration: The dialogue we Never Had” by Routledge.
In 2012, he edited “Rights and Restoration within Youth Justice”, in 2013 he co-edited ‘Reconstructing Restorative Justice Philosophy’ and in 2015 he edited ‘The Philosophy of Restorative Justice’ both published by Ashgate (now Routledge). He also edited ‘Offenders no More’ by NOVA Publishers (2015) and ‘Restorative Justice, The Library of Essays on Justice’ (2015) by Ashgate Publishing. He also edited ‘The Routledge International Handbook of Restorative Justice’ (2018) and “Comparative Restorative Justice” (2021).
His new monograph, Power, Race & Justice: The restorative dialogue we won’t have is due to be published in 2021 by Routledge.