A new proposal has sparked debate over creating a specialised court for young African-Australian offenders, modelled on Victoria’s Indigenous Koori Courts.

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Justice experts and community leaders examined the idea as a potential way to lower youth crime and reduce incarceration rates for African-Australian teenagers, the Herald Sun reports.

The initiative, first discussed at an RMIT University Centre for Innovative Justice roundtable in May last year, aimed to offer African youth the chance to experience “cultural restorative justice” outside conventional courts.

It was one of six ideas presented amid rising youth crime, which has reached record levels in recent years.

The proposed “African court” would operate similarly to the Koori Courts, currently accessible only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who plead guilty. Reports from the roundtable said the court would be “more participatory” and “less formal”, with community elders advising on proceedings.

I completely reject the idea of creating an “African court” in Australia.

This is Australia and I fundamentally reject the Balkanisation of our country.

If you move to Australia, you have to assimilate. We don’t assimilate to you. You have to assimilate to us or leave. pic.twitter.com/6qnkAq9d5I

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) September 29, 2025

Africause chief executive Dr Berhan Amhed, whose organisation collaborated with RMIT on the report, said: “If culture is the problem, then culture must also be the solution — African kids need a justice process that speaks their language and involves their community.”

He added: “A culturally appropriate system can treat children fairly, help them take responsibility and support their exit from the justice system rather than entrenching them in it.”

Dr Amhed said many African families and community leaders would likely be “ready and willing” to support such a system.

Victoria University lecturer Dr Bishok Wan Kot, a roundtable participant, agreed the African court was a “good idea”, highlighting the lack of community and tradition in mainstream courts. “We have seen, from the Indigenous example, how it’s benefited them,” he said.

"African" courts?

Another case of the "expert" as an idiot.

Stop giving them bail. Lock them up. Punish them. pic.twitter.com/9prg4E2zsH

— Ron Dunn (@ronInBendigo) September 28, 2025

However, South Sudanese criminal lawyer Daniel Ajak opposed the idea, noting the diversity of African communities and the lack of shared history with Indigenous Australians. “Perhaps we can look at what worked with the early European migrants and the Vietnamese and try to learn from what work for them and what didn’t work,” he said.

The report ultimately recommended an African-Australian “circle of support”, a system outside formal courts where youth offenders are referred to a support circle tailored to their needs.

Koori Courts, controversially established in 2002, involve elders and community members to ensure “culturally appropriate sentencing,” aiming to reduce reoffending among Indigenous Australians.