Italy

Provides a listing of articles on restorative justice developments in Italy. Articles appear in the order in which they were added to the site with the most recent appearing first.

Awesome things happen when people come together

by Lynette Parker Recently, I met with representatives from Prison Fellowship Italy (PF Italy) visiting the Washington, DC area. In early 2010, a colleague and I had visited Italy to train members of the new organisation in the Sycamore Tree Project® so I was really looking forward to hearing about their experiences and the lessons learned. I wasn’t prepared for the awe inspiring stories that they told. The Sycamore Tree Project® is an in-prison restorative justice programme bringing together unrelated victims and prisoners for a series of six to eight sessions. Through the sessions, participants explore the impact of crime, taking responsibility, confession, repentance, making amends, forgiveness and reconciliation. PF Italy worked quickly to implement this programme in Italian prisons but faced a few obstacles. In the end, the prison administration allowed them to start but with the proviso that the first group consist of prisoners who were mafia members convicted of committing murder and survivors of victims of such mafia activity. I remember receiving that news and thinking, “That’s not where I would want to start.”

Ghetti, Simona and Mestitz, Anna. What do prosecutors and judges think about victim-offender mediation with juvenile offenders? (What do Italian judges and prosecutors think about victim-offender mediation?)

In Italy VOM has been experimented mainly within the juvenile justice system since the early 90s. Juvenile magistrates (public prosecutors and judges) may dispose for VOM as a part of the criminal proceeding. In our previous research (Mestitz & Ghetti, 2002) we documented that juvenile magistrates were directly involved in the promotion and creation of 6 of the 9 Mediation centres existing in Italy at the time of the research. Considering that juvenile prosecutors and judges are the only professionals who can dispose for mediation, and they seem to have a central role in ensuring the very existence of VOM in Italy, we may expect that in those jurisdictions in which VOM centres exist, mediation is attempted in a sizeable percentage of cases. Instead, when we examined the proportion of juvenile crimes reported to the authorities in the jurisdiction in which VOM centre is available, we found that mediation is attempted in a very small percentage of cases (e.g., 8% in 2000). Thus, we wondered whether despite the initial enthusiasm and/or support, there is now some attitudinal resistance to rely on mediation. (excerpt)

Ministero della Giustizia. La Mediazione penale e la giustizia riparativa

La giustizia riparativa può essere definita come un modello di giustizia che coinvolge la vittima, il reo e la comunità nella ricerca di soluzioni agli effetti del conflitto generato dal fatto delittuoso, allo scopo di promuovere lariparazione del danno, la riconciliazione tra le parti e il rafforzamento del senso di sicurezza collettivo. La sfida che la giustizia riparativa lancia, alle soglie del XXI secolo, è quella di cercare di superare la logica del castigo muovendo da una lettura relazionale del fenomeno criminoso, inteso primariamente come un conflitto che provoca la rottura di aspettative sociali simbolicamente condivise. Il reato non dovrebbe più essere considerato soltanto un illecito commesso contro la società, o come un comportamento che incrina l'ordine costituito - e che richiede una pena da espiare -, bensì come una condotta intrinsecamente dannosa e offensiva, che può provocare alle vittime privazioni, sofferenze, dolore e persino la morte, e che richiede, da parte del reo, principalmente l'attivazione di forme di riparazione del danno provocato. (estratto) (excerpt)

de Vanna, Ilaria. School Mediation in the Province of Bari.

Numerous scientific studies have shown the quality of learning is tightly correlated to the communicative and relational quality of the scholar-familiar context. Investigations conducted by regional Institutes, in cooperation with C.R.I.S.I. and other associations in the province of Bari, have underlined school is also one of the places in which different forms of violence develop and where divergent and antagonistic interests often provoke, in particular among boys, misunderstandings and tensions, resulting in different forms of uneasiness and conflict. Insofar the project aims to prevent violence inside the school borders. The presentation is about a C.R.I.S.I project in a middle school in Bari. (author's abstract)

Manozzi, Grazia. "Parallel Mediations:" Why Organised Crime Tends to "Mediate" Conflict and to Reject Institutional Victim-Offender Mediation

The article describes the phenomenon in Italy of mafia bosses organizing mediation conferences for warring parties at the behest of the police. It contrasts the differences in style between penal mediation and mafia style mediation and concludes with some of the implications for both types of mediation.

Mestitz, Anna. Victim-Offender Mediation in Italy

According to Anna Mestitz, victim-offender mediation (VOM) arose spontaneously in Italy in the first half of the 1990s. The system is functionally connected with, and to a degree dependent on, a complex network of agencies. Such agencies include the national and local social services, the judicial police for juveniles, voluntary work associations, and rehabilitation communities (where juvenile offenders may be placed to serve their sentences). Judges and prosecutors also take leading roles. In this context, Mestitz sketches results from her research on VOM in Italy in the following areas: territorial distribution; organization; personnel; funding sources; theoretical model; and number of cases.

Brutto, Sabrina and Padovani, Alessandro and Balahur, Doina. Probation and Restorative Justice in Romania and Italy.

This book reviews recent trends in European-style juvenile justice systems and explores diversionary and alternative dispute resolution strategies. The lines of enquiries developed within this book argue for the possibility and desirability of special treatment for children in the juvenile justice system. Part I, "Probation and Restorative Justice in Romania," maps the competing trends and models of juvenile justice while attempting to identify where Romanian juvenile justices stands among them. The content of Part I includes: Competing Models of Juvenile Justice: Social-Legal Perspectives and Applied Research of Social Work; Juvenile Offenders Who Are Not Criminally Responsible: The Potential of Restorative Justice; and, Romanian Probation System between Past and Future. Part II,"Probation and Restorative Justice in Italy," examines the complex problems of juvenile delinquency in Italy. The content of Part II includes: Restorative Justice: An International and Critical Overview; Juvenile Delinquency: The Italian Context; The Italian Juvenile Justice System: An Introduction; and, Probation and Educational Measures for Juveniles in Italy. Part III, "Italian and Norwegian Restorative Justice Experiences," offers a comparative analysis of restorative justice in Italy and Norway within the frame of the European project, COST A21. The content of Part III includes: Looking into the Question of Marginalization of Juveniles by Comparing Italian and Norwegian Restorative Justice Experiences. (Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov).

Merzagora Betsos, Isabella and Maffei, Stefano. Crime and Criminal Policy in Italy: Tradition and Modernity in a Troubled Country

This paper investigates the development of criminology research in Italy and places it in the context of broader considerations of the country’s policies on crime and criminal justice. An overview of Italian research on crime and criminology reveals the versatility of Italian literature and jurisprudence; it also indicates that ‘new’ forms of criminality (such as white-collar crimes, sexual offences and the crimes of immigrants) are being discussed alongside the more traditional topics of murder, crimes against property and organized crime. Furthermore, this survey attempts to clarify why, in Italy, the level of public confidence in the criminal justice system is so low, despite the numerous recent reforms and the official crime rates, according to which Italy is within the European norm for most categories of offences.

Baldry, Anna C. "Victim-Offender Mediation in the Italian Juvenile Justice System: The Role of the Social Worker."

Mediation in the restorative justice approach balances the victims' needs against holding offenders responsible for the harm caused and requiring them to make reparation for it. However, the Italian juvenile justice system has not yet widely implemented victim-offender mediation. Social workers employed by the Juvenile Criminal Justice Department are the only professionals involved in mediation. Results of the national survey indicated that in most cases the young offender received the primary attention and that the victim's interests did not receive consideration. Social workers reported that they perceived the advantages of a restorative justice approach to crime, but lacked the skills as well as the time to undertake this duty adequately. Findings also addressed the potential biases of offering mediation programs as part of a probation order, thereby affecting the independence and neutrality of mediation. A case study involving attempted murder demonstrates how thorough training of social workers acting as mediators can avoid this risk. The case study also revealed that mediation can be successful even with serious offenses and that both the victim and the offender can benefit from it. Findings indicated that mediation programs should be well structured and that they can fit well with social work practice.

Paliero, Carlo Enrico and Grazia Mannozi. "Criminal Conflicts Involving Minors: Problems and Perspectives of Victim-Offender Mediation."

This paper presents a theoretical framework for victim-offender mediation in Italy, implemented in some pilot schemes in recent years. One of the main problems that arise with mediation is where to place it in the context of criminal justice. Because of its structural characteristics, mediation occupies an intermediate area between criminal law and procedural norms. When adopted, therefore, mediation can modify the enforcement of criminal laws for juveniles (pre-trial or trial) and can undermine the principal guarantees embedded in our code of criminal procedure (due process, presumption of innocence, right of defence). In conclusion, mediation is seen as a new response to wrongdoing and as an autonomous paradigm of justice, differing from both the retributive and the rehabilitative ones because of its structure, protagonists, goals, features and political approach to crime.

Baldry, Anna C and Volpini, Laura and Scali, Melania. "Mediation in the Italian juvenile justice system: A mediation service project."

The authors of this article survey the status and function of mediation in the Italian juvenile justice system – at the time of writing, mediation was not available in the adult system in Italian. Restorative justice principles were introduced into the Italian juvenile justice system in 1988 in accord with United Nations’ Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice. Topics discussed include the following: the justice system perspective on the nature of juvenile offending; the administration of mediation within the system; and the development of a new, independent mediation service by a group of experts at the University of Rome.

Ministry of Justice. "Mediation and restorative justice in the Italian criminal justice system."

This paper presents the status of mediation in the Italian criminal justice system. The first part of the paper surveys penal mediation with respect to juveniles, including guidelines and objectives for penal mediation in the juvenile sector. Theoretical approaches to mediation are described, as is the legal framework. Actual experiences regarding the use of penal mediation are also discussed. The second part of the paper deals with the extension of criminal mediation to ordinary justice (i.e., cases involving adult offenders). Topics covered in this section are the following: the legal framework; the current trend in the protection of victims; mediation and reparation in the experience of law-enforcement officers; and mediation and reparation with respect to the Justice of the Peace.

Vico, Maurizio and Sironi, Anna. ‘Knots of an Italian Inattention’ (Conceptual Obstacles)

In Italy there are no institutional initiatives concerning victims (with the exception of some particular situations), and the experiences in community mediation are experimental, and not really formalised. Only recently in Italy some steps concerning victims are developing and new debates are getting deeper. The victim as a social subject expressing needs has almost always been kept in the shade: the right of recouping, but not of help is recognized for victims. Today the focus is on those victims’ needs that cannot be answered by the juridical area by itself, but only in tight connection with the social resources... There is still a problematic ‘knot’ in the Italian situation: strategies of damage reduction raise an ideological problem. Resources in this area, and in particular the area or security, refer to a failure of the preventive and repressive system. Objections rise. Do this kind of actions reducing damages for victim and the community not give injustice for granted? Does it not hide the ineffectiveness of the system that should guarantee legality? Does it not pass anger towards crime over in silence? (excerpt)

Mastropasqua, Isabella and Ciuffo, Elisabetta. International Cooperation and Its Impact on RJ Policies in Italy

This workshop revolves around the differences between Italy's restorative justice policies and other countries'. It suggests some practices and points that are employed by other countries and which might be considered by Italy as beneficial to implement.

Mastropasqua, Isabella. Juvenile criminal mediation in Italy: Current and future perspectives.

The history of juvenile criminal mediation in Italy's judicial system is especially fragmented and complex. Instead of retracing this history as a chronicle, an overview of its main features is provided below, because it accounts for the special nature of the Italian model and must be taken into account when envisaging future developments and new perspectives -- not only in respect of juvenile mediation, but regarding restorative justice in general in Italy. (excerpt)

Zanuso, Francesca. The Conceptual Roots of Restorative Justice in Italian Legal Tradition

The Italian legal culture has some good reasons to appreciate Restorative Justice: such an approach to justice, in facts, seems to be able to give the right attention to the victim – providing him/her with the adequate respect; it seems also to offer some interesting tools for settling a lawsuit, to re-establish the social communication, to strengthen the perception of social security and, therefore, to support a better comprehension between victims and offenders. Nevertheless, it must be also taken into account that – in the general perception, as well as in the academic debate – RJ is commonly understood as an alternative way for sentencing as well as an alternative to punishment in criminal justice matters; this is probably one of the reasons why it is usually ‘bordered’ – to say limited - to the sector of juvenile justice, or to misdemeanours (minor crimes). (excerpt)