Europe

Provides articles discussing restorative justice advancements in Europe. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

Ireland Exploring Further Restorative Justice Implementation: The National Commission on Restorative Justice (Commission) in Ireland has released an interim report on its work to develop a policy framework for expanding the use of restorative justice throughout the country. The report suggests possible pilot projects and describes issues still to be studied.
Legislating the Use of Victim Offender Mediation in Portugal: In July 2007, Portugal enacted "Law no. 21/2007 of June 12" regulating the use of victim offender mediation. The legislation outlines cases in which mediation can be used, the process for referral, limits on mediation agreements, and the criteria for mediators. This article provides a summary of a larger article written by Paulo de Brito, Justice Auditor from the Centre d’Études Judiciares in Lisbon, describing the development of victim offender mediation in Portugal within the larger European framework.
Legislating the Use of Victim Offender Mediation in Portugal: In July 2007, Portugal enacted "Law no. 21/2007 of June 12" regulating the use of victim offender mediation. The legislation outlines cases in which mediation can be used, the process for referral, limits on mediation agreements, and the criteria for mediators. This article provides a summary of a larger article written by Paulo de Brito, Justice Auditor from the Centre d’Études Judiciares in Lisbon, describing the development of victim offender mediation in Portugal within the larger European framework.
New Guidelines for Implementing Mediation in Europe: In November 2007, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) issued Guidelines for a Better Implementation of the Existing Recommendation Concerning Mediation in Penal Matters. The document urges member states of the Council of Europe to further develop the understanding and use of penal mediation and restorative justice in all aspects of the criminal justice system.
New Guidelines for Implementing Mediation in Europe: In November 2007, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) issued Guidelines for a Better Implementation of the Existing Recommendation Concerning Mediation in Penal Matters. The document urges member states of the Council of Europe to further develop the understanding and use of penal mediation and restorative justice in all aspects of the criminal justice system.
Introducing Restorative Practices into Scottish Schools: In 2004, the Scottish Executive allocated funding for a 30-month pilot project to introduce restorative practices into schools in three Local Authorities. An August 2007 evaluation report outlines the implementation process for the different areas and the progress made in establishing restorative practices in the school.
Nikolic-Ristanovic, Vesna and Sanja Copic. The position of victims in Serbia: criminal procedure and possibilities of restorative justice.: In the paper, the authors deal with the victim’s position in the criminal procedure, on the one hand side, and the possibilities of implementing restorative justice and its importance for the improvement of victim’s position in Serbia, on the other one. In the first part of the paper, the authors point out victim’s position within the criminal procedure and the noticed gaps, which are particularly reflected in insufficient paying attention to the victim and neglecting of his/her rights and needs. This is opposite to the strengthening of the rights of the accused party that characterizes societies, which are, as our society, on the way of democratization and improvement of human rights. In the second part of the paper, the authors analyze some solutions that introduce elements of restorative justice into our system of criminal response to crime, but from the victim’s point of view. Finally, the authors also point out some further steps that should be undertaken in order to improve the victim’s position, particularly emphasizing the place and role of victim support service, witness service and special facilities in the courts for victims/witnesses, possibilities of using victim-offender mediation before reporting the crime, or staring the prosecution, or as a part of the treatment in the prison etc.
RJ in Moldova: The Institute for Penal Reform: In recent years, the Republic of Moldova has begun using restorative justice processes. This required new legislation and development of pilot projects using victim offender mediation in both juvenile and adult cases. A major supporter and advocate for these changes has been the Institute for Penal reform founded in November 2001.
Attitudes of Victims and Offenders toward Restorative Justice: A June 2007 report from the Ministry of Justice in the UK reports the attitudes of victims and offenders participating in three different restorative justice schemes from 2001-2004. The evaluation shows that the majority of victims and offenders found the restorative justice process satisfactory, with communication being listed as one of the most important elements of the process.
Chankova, Dobrinka and Emilia Staninska. Bulgaria on the Road to Victim-Offender Mediation: Although in the last decade mediation in all fields (civil, labour, penal matters etc.) has had numerous proponents in academic circles and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and has won recognition in wider society, it only recently began to attract the attention and support of policy makers and members of Parliament, and not without a push from outside. (excerpt) PowerPoint Presentation.
Chankova, Dobrinka.Positioning Mediation in Bulgarian Justice System: the New Mediation Act Significance: The year 2004 ended happily for mediation supporters in Bulgaria, when on December 2nd, the Bulgarian Parliament finally adopted the long-awaited Mediation Act. The Act was promulgated in State Gazette N 110 on December 17th, 2004 and enforced on December 20th, 2004. Given that the path towards the adoption of this law was wrought with difficulties, its’ final passage represents a huge success.
Community Justice Centers in Armenia: In 2006, two Community Justice Centers opened in Armenia to provide restorative justice services to first-time young offenders. They were developed by an NGO, Project Harmony, and Armenian law enforcement professionals and educators. In this article, Renee Berrian, programme manager with Project Harmony, provides an overview of the development of the Community Justice Centers in Armenia.
Blaha, Magdolna Fabianne and Velez, Edit and Negrea, Vidia. The use of family group conferencing/Decision-making with prisoners in prison probation and during after-care in Hungary.: For years now, the Hungarian Probation Service has considered it one of its main tasks to use the methods of restorative justice more extensively in their work with offenders. These efforts were supported by the fact that the probation service is now responsible for the tasks related to mediation and as such mediation in criminal cases has become an institutional form of restorative justice. The Probation service is working on the implementation of restorative justice principles in other types of cases also, and is trying to ensure that the various techniques and procedures become integral parts of the probation officers' case management methodology. To this end, various experimental projects were launched. One of these was a project which the purpose was to include the method of family group conferencing/decision-making in the case management of probation officers. (excerpt)
Jacobsson, Maritha and Wahlin, Lottie. The development of victim offender mediation in Sweden.: Since the year 2008, it has been compulsory for all municipalities in Sweden to offer victim offender mediation (VOM) to young offenders below the age of 21. Work in the area of victim offender mediation was started in the late 1990s and has been expanding every since. In Sweden, VOM is regulated by the Act 445 of 2002 on Mediation. The aim of the act is to increase the offender's level of insight into the consequences of the increase the offender's level of insight into the consequences of the offence. At the same time, the victim is provided with the opportunity to deal with his/her experiences. The philosophy underlying the Swedish criminal system is retributive; and restorative justice can be described as a complementary method. Retributive justice is rooted in the idea that the offender should be prosecuted and punished by the state. Restorative justice provides a very different framework for understanding and responding to crime and victimisation. Instead of an offender-driven focus, restorative justice identifies three parties: individual victims, victimized communities, and offenders. Its main purpose is to bring together the parties involved who can meet and deal with the effects of the offence and its future consequences together. (excerpt)
Artinopoulou, Vasso. Victim offender mediation in cases of domestic violence -- the Greek experience.: Gender perspective is important to take into account in domestic violence as well as in restorative justice issues. Gender inequalities and imbalances affect the victimization potentials and the risks to families and the society as well. Gender issues are also discussed in the present article, with particular emphasis to the debate concerning the appropriateness of victim offender mediation in cases of domestic violence. (excerpt)
Matouskova, Andrea. Mediation as a restorative approach to dealing with juvenile crime in the Czech Republic.: The Czech Republic has a population of approximately 10 million people. The Probation and Mediation Service of the Czech Republic (PMS) was founded in January 2001. IN 2009,the PMS had 340 probation officers and assistants. The PMS operates with approximately 28,000 cases per year, 14% of the cases are connected to juveniles. In the Czech Republic the judicial system is divided into 8 court regions with 74 court districts 9and 74 PMS centres). Each PMS centre has one specialised officer who focuses on issues related to juveniles. According to the Czech Youth Justice Act (YJA) this specialised officer has to receive special training on methods of working with juveniles, their families and on cooperating with other professionals (social workers, teachers, psychologists, lawyers, etc.). (excerpt)
Marklund, Linda. Resolving school conflicts through peer mediation in Sweden.: The use of mediation in Sweden is only starting up, although Norrbotten as a county has been widely applying it since 2004. Peer mediation work is not carried out all over the country homogeneously. In Norrbotten, a peer mediation scheme was set up at Lulea Technical University in cooperation with the mediation and negotiation courses held there and with the Association of Local Authorities in Norrbotten. Peer mediation in Norrbotten became the first organisation devoted to the use and promotion of mediation in schools in Sweden on this scale. Today approximately 125 schools and have more than 360 mediation coordinators are involved in the work. In 2010 these will be providing a 15-hour-long training session in mediation to over 1,500 students. All other students at these schools will participate in a day-long workshop that will give them an insight into what mediation is and how it can help them resolve their conflicts. (excerpt)
Kinnunen, Aarne. Resolving conflicts in schools in Finland.: The Finnish Act on Basic Education states that a child has the right to a safe studying environment. Schools thus carry the responsibility to react to possible tensions and to ensure that there are enough methods to prevent conflicts. Since harmful and disrespectful behaviour occurs on a daily basis in schools, it is necessary to create different methods to prevent bullying, violence and other types of aggressive behaviour and to create a safe and comfortable learning environment. Schools should thus, in addition to basic educational duties, also help students build social and emotional skills within the school community so that schools can be safe and just places. (excerpt)
Hydle, Ida. Contemporary Restorative Justice Practices in Europe: A report on the progress of the COST-network on Restorative Justice, a team of researchers from several European countries, who aim "to enhance and deepen knowledge on theoretical and practical aspects of restorative justice, with a view to supporting implementation strategies in a scientifically sound way."
Doherty, Kelvin. Development of Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland.: The signing of the Belfast Agreement by all the major political parties in the province and the British and Irish Governments brought an end to over 30 years of civil conflict. The agreement specified the aims of the criminal justice system. The review of criminal justice was conducted by the Criminal Justice Review Group between June 1998 and March 2000. This group commissioned research into public attitudes toward criminal justice in Northern Ireland, as well as the experience of other jurisdictions regarding a range of key issues, including the application of restorative justice principles within the justice system. The research on restorative justice focused on common-law jurisdictions with experience in restorative justice initiatives, such as New Zealand, England and Wales, and Australia. In addition, restorative justice as practiced in South Africa was reviewed, because, like Northern Ireland, it had experienced intercommunal conflict. As a result of the report of the researchers, the Northern Ireland Office became committed to placing restorative justice at the core of the justice system for young offenders. Loosely based on the New Zealand model of youth conferencing, the Youth Conference Service was launched in Northern Ireland as a pilot program in 2003 as part of the new Youth Justice Agency. Youth are referred by the courts or prosecution service after admitting guilt and giving consent to their involvement in a youth conference. The conferencing process involves a meeting with the young offender, the victim, and others who have been affected by the crime. The focus is on all parties resolving how the youth can make amends to the victim and what can be done to prevent further offending. (excerpt)

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