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Restorative justice

Introduction into restorative justice.

Values of restorative justice

Dr. iur. Dana Rone

Wednesday, 20 August 2025

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Introduction: Rules for the study course

Mutual respect
Politeness
Empathy
No interruption when a colleague student is speaking
Confidentiality for role play activities
Collegiality
Sharing experience

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Needs, concerns and expectations

Divide in groups and discuss your needs, concerns and expectations regarding your participation in this study course
When one student is speaking, others listen and afterwards summarize what was told
Don’t add your opinon

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What is justice?

What is your understanding of justice? (Especially after wrongdoing / crime)
What are your ethical considerations of justice?
From your perspective, what is justice trying to achieve?

Organize into small groups and discuss the questions.
Call on every group for their answers.
Time: 20 minutes

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Values of the restorative justice�1. Justice

The focus of restorative justice is on harms which are unjust or wrong.
Some restorative practices are designed to prevent injustices by engaging people in just relations, while some undo an injustice through people making themselves accountable, repairing the harm, and acting to alleviate suffering and to reduce the likelihood of further harm.
For this to be effective the restorative process should be fair and as far as possible not dominated by any party.

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Values of the restorative justice�2. Solidarity

Restorative justice recognises the interdependence and diversity of people and the critical importance of the quality of relationships to individual’s wellbeing and social cohesion. It provides an opportunity to reconnect and to learn how to fulfill one’s obligations to each other’s wellbeing.
For this to be effective the restorative process should enable people to assume personal and social responsibility for their words and deeds.

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Values of the restorative justice�3. Respect for the dignity of people

Restorative processes work because they include all those affected by a harm or a risk of a harm and because they assume that all human beings are valuable and have the intelligence, knowledge and capabilities to address issues that concern them.
For this to be effective the restorative process should generate the safety and respect required for people to feel an ownership of the process and to speak freely.

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Values of the restorative justice�4. Truth

Restorative justice enables each person to give a true account of the harm or risk of harm as they experience it.
It recognizes that each person’s account contains truth but may not be the complete truth.
Something closer to the complete truth emerges from questioning and dialogue.
For this to be effective all participants need to understand the importance of telling the truth and of being sincere in their intentions and in the commitments that they make as a result of the process

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Restorative justice is not ...

Restorative justice is not primarily about forgiveness or reconciliation.
Restorative justice is not mediation (instead – conferencing, dialogue, conciliation)
Restorative justice is not primarily designed to reduce recidivism or repeating offenses.
Restorative justice is not a particular program or a blueprint.

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Restorative justice is not ...

Restorative justice is not primarily intended for comparatively minor offenses or for first-time offenders
Restorative justice is not a new or North American development.
Restorative justice is neither a panacea nor necessarily a replacement for the legal system
Restorative justice is not necessarily an alternative to prison.
Restorative justice is not necessarily the opposite of retribution.

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Restorative justice is about needs and roles

An effort to rethink the needs which crimes create, as well as the roles implicit in crimes.
Some needs are not being met in the usual justice process.
Expanding circle of stakeholders

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Needs of victims in restorative justice

Victims often feel ignored and neglected
Needs for information
Truth-telling
Empowerment
Restitution or vindication

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Needs of offenders in restorative justice

Offender accountability
Offenders often use neutralizing strategies—the stereotypes and rationalizations – to distance themselves from the people they hurt
Offender’s sense of alienation from society is only heightened by the legal process and by the prison experience.
The legal process tends to discourage responsibility and empathy on the part of offenders.
Real accountability involves facing up to what one has done.

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Needs of offenders in restorative justice

1. Accountability that:

addresses the resulting harms,
encourages empathy and responsibility,
and transforms shame.

2. Encouragement to experience personal transformation, including

healing for the harms that contributed to their offending behavior,
opportunities for treatment for addictions and/or other problems,
enhancement of personal competencies.

3. Encouragement and support for integration into the community.

4. For some, at least temporary restraint.

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Needs of community in restorative justice

Attention to their concerns as victims
Opportunities to build a sense of community and mutual accountability
Encouragement to take on their obligations for the welfare of their members, including victims and offenders, and to foster the conditions that promote healthy communities.

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Further reading and listening materials:

Martine Rietman. Effectiveness of restorative justice practices.

https://www.euforumrj.org/sites/default/files/2019-11/a.2.7.-effectiveness-of-restorative-justice-practices-2017-efrj.pdf

For inspiration listen to speech of Dan Reisel. The neuroscience of restorative justice

https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_reisel_the_neuroscience_of_restorative_justice

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Principles of restorative justice

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Understanding of wrongdoing

Crime is a violation of people and of interpersonal relationships.
Violations create obligations.
The central obligation is to put right the wrongs.
We all are interconnected. Crime – damaged relationships
Concern for healing of those involved

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4 styles of approach to crime

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4 styles of approach to crime

C 1. Punitive 4. Restorative

O approach approach

O 2. Careless 3. Permissive

L approach approach

S U P P O R T

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1. Punitive approach

C 1. Punitive 4. Restorative

O approach approach

O 2. Careless 3. Permissive

L approach approach

S U P P O R T

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1. Punitive approach: standard approach�«If there is crime, there is a punishment»

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+ Positive aspects	- Negative aspects
1. Society is satisfied	1. Wrongdoers keep feeling guilty
2. Justice protection authorities are convinced about correctness of this approach	2. A victim is neglected, kept aside from the process (like witness)
3. Wrongdoers are motivated to obstain from new crimes	3. Wrongdoers have hate against society
	4. Wrongdoers disagree with punishment
	5. Wrongdoers meet recidivists in jail
	6. Society pushes away the wrongdoer

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2. Careless approach

C 1. Punitive 4. Restorative

O approach approach

O 2. Careless 3. Permissive

L approach approach

S U P P O R T

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2. Careless approach�«Low level of control»�Example: If people see stealing in public transport, they ignore, pretend they don’t see it�

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+ Positive aspects	- Negative aspects
1. Wrongdoer stays in a comfort zone	1. Psychological discomfort for wrongdoers for not stepping up
2. Wrongdoers make no / little effort	2. Promotes recidivism
3. Event is not exagerated when reaching justice	3. Discourages public involvement
	4. Society is not interested
	5. Generations learn to be careless and uninvolved

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3. Permissive approach

C 1. Punitive 4. Restorative

O approach approach

O 2. Careless 3. Permissive

L approach approach

S U P P O R T

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3. Permissive approach�Example: If a minor gets involved in a crime, the parents step up and solve the problem instead of their child�

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+ Positive aspects	- Negative aspects
1. High trust into wrongdoer	1. Insufficient control over wrongdoer
2. Giving a chance to wrongdoers to get back on the track	2. A wrongdoer does not learn to take responsibility
	3. Manipulation with supporters
	4. Abuse of trust

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4. Restorative approach

C 1. Punitive 4. Restorative

O approach approach

O 2. Careless 3. Permissive

L approach approach

S U P P O R T

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4. Restorative approach

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+ Positive aspects	- Negative aspects
1. A victim gets satisfaction of needs	1. A victim has a risk that wrongdoer will not fulfill made promises
2. A wrongdoer understands gravity of the offense	2. Difficulties to understand when settlement is sincere and when it is not
3. Conflict is regulated faster and more effective
4. Both sides agree about the most just settlement

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4. Restorative approach

Process
Approach
Transformation of situation
Restitution

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4. Restorative approach

Needs of the victim Who is responsible for the harm?

Involves stakeholders Focus on harms and needs

Putting right

Orientation towards Everyone is involved: a victim,

cooperation and reintegration a wrongdoer, society, supporters

of wrongdoer into society Inclusive, collaborative process

Respect towards the parties

and their decisions

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2 different views -

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Criminal Justice	Restorative Justice
Crime is a violation of the law and the state.	Crime is a violation of people and relationships.
Violations create guilt.	Violations create obligations
Justice requires the state to determine blame (guilt) and impose pain (punishment).	Justice involves victims, offenders, and community members in an effort to put things right.
Central focus: offenders getting what they deserve.	Central focus: victim needs and offender responsibility for repairing harm.

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3 different questions

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Criminal justice	Restorative justice
1. What laws have been broken?	1. Who has been hurt?
2. Who did it?	2. What are their needs?
3. What do they deserve?	3. Whose obligations are these?

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3 pillars or restorative justice

1. Restorative justice focuses on harm and related needs

2. Wrongs or harms result in obligations

3. Restorative justice promotes engagement or participation

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Restorative justice. Process – the «how»?

Restorative justice prefers inclusive, collaborative processes and consensual outcomes.

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Restorative justice. Stakeholders – the «who»?

Stakeholders include victims, offenders, and communities of care

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�1.Crime is fundamentally a violation of people and interpersonal relationships

1.1 Victims and the community have been harmed and are in need of restoration

1.1.1 The primary victims are those most directly affected by the offense, but others, such as family members of victims and offenders, witnesses, and members of the affected community, are also victims.

1.1.2 The relationships affected (and reflected) by crime must be addressed.

1.1.3 Restoration is a continuum of responses to the range of needs and harms experienced by victims, offenders, and the community.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�1.Crime is fundamentally a violation of people and interpersonal relationships.

1.2 Victims, offenders, and the affected communities are the key stakeholders in justice

1.2.1 A restorative justice process maximizes the input and participation of these parties—but especially primary victims as well as offenders—in the search for restoration, healing, responsibility, and prevention.

1.2.2 The roles of these parties will vary according to the nature of the offense, as well as the capacities and preferences of the parties.

1.2.3 The state has circumscribed roles, such as investigating facts, facilitating processes, and ensuring safety, but the state is not a primary victim.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�2. Violations create obligations and liabilities

2.1 Offenders’ obligations are to make things right as much as possible.

2.1.1 Since the primary obligation is to victims, a restorative justice process empowers victims to effectively participate in defining obligations.

2.1.2 Offenders are provided opportunities and encouragement to understand the harm they have caused to victims and the community and to develop plans for taking appropriate responsibility

2.1.3 Voluntary participation by offenders is maximized; coercion and exclusion are minimized. However, offenders may be required to accept their obligations if they do not do so voluntarily

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�2. Violations create obligations and liabilities

2.1 Offenders’ obligations are to make things right as much as possible.

2.1.4 Obligations that follow from the harm inflicted by crime should be related to making things right.

2.1.5 Obligations may be experienced as difficult, even painful, but are not intended as pain, vengeance, or revenge.

2.1.6 Obligations to victims, such as restitution, take priority over other sanctions and obligations to the state, such as fines.

2.1.7 Offenders have an obligation to be active participants in addressing their own needs.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�2. Violations create obligations and liabilities

2.2 The community’s obligations are to victims and to offenders and for the general welfare of its members.

2.2.1 The community has a responsibility to support and help victims of crime to meet their needs.

2.2.2 The community bears a responsibility for the welfare of its members and the social conditions and relationships which promote both crime and community peace.

2.2.3 The community has responsibilities to support efforts to integrate offenders into the community, to be actively involved in the definitions of offender obligations, and to ensure opportunities for offenders to make amends.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�3. Restorative justice seeks to heal and put right the wrongs

3.1 The needs of victims for information, validation, vindication, restitution, testimony, safety, and support are the starting points of justice.

3.1.1 The safety of victims is an immediate priority.

3.1.2 The justice process provides a framework that promotes the work of recovery and healing that is ultimately the domain of the individual victim.

3.1.3 Victims are empowered by maximizing their input and participation in determining needs and outcomes.

3.1.4 Offenders are involved in repair of the harm insofar as possible.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�3. Restorative justice seeks to heal and put right the wrongs

3.2 The process of justice maximizes opportunities for exchange of information, participation, dialogue, and mutual consent between victim and offender.

3.2.1 Face-to-face encounters are appropriate for some instances, while alternative forms of exchange are more appropriate in others.

3.2.2 Victims have the principal role in defining and directing the terms and conditions of the exchange.

3.2.3 Mutual agreement takes precedence over imposed outcomes.

3.2.4 Opportunities are provided for remorse, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�3. Restorative justice seeks to heal and put right the wrongs

3.3 Offenders’ needs and competencies are addressed.

3.3.1 Recognizing that offenders themselves have often been harmed, healing and integration of offenders into the community are emphasized.

3.3.2 Offenders are supported and treated respectfully in the justice process.

3.3.3 Removal from the community and severe restriction of offenders is limited to the minimum necessary.

3.3.4 Justice values personal change above compliant behavior.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�3. Restorative justice seeks to heal and put right the wrongs

3.4 The justice process belongs to the community.

3.4.1 Community members are actively involved in doing justice.

3.4.2 The justice process draws from community resources and, in turn, contributes to the building and strengthening of community.

3.4.3 The justice process attempts to promote changes in the community to both prevent similar harms from happening to others, and to foster early intervention to address the needs of victims and the accountability of offenders.

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Fundamental principles of restorative justice�3. Restorative justice seeks to heal and put right the wrongs

3.5 Justice is mindful of the outcomes, intended and unintended, of its responses to crime and victimization.

3.5.1 Justice monitors and encourages follow-through since healing, recovery, accountability, and change are maximized when agreements are kept.

3.5.2 Fairness is assured, not by uniformity of outcomes, but through provision of necessary support and opportunities to all parties and avoidance of discrimination based on ethnicity, class, and sex.

3.5.3 Outcomes which are predominately deterrent or incapacitative should be implemented as a last resort, involving the least restrictive intervention while seeking restoration of the parties involved.

3.5.4 Unintended consequences such as the co-optation of restorative processes for coercive or punitive ends, undue offender orientation, or the expansion of social control, are resisted.

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Restorative justice aims to put things right

Putting right requires that we

Address harms Address causes

Restorative justice encourages outcomes that promote responsibility, reparation, and healing for all.

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A restorative lens with 5 key principles

Restorative justice seeks to provide an alternate framework or lens for thinking about crime and justice.

Principles

Restorative lens or philosophy has 5 key principles:
To focus on harms and consequent needs of victims, but also of communities and offenders;
To address obligations resulting from those harms of offenders, but also of communities and society
To use inclusive, collaborative processes
To involve those with a legitimate stake in the situation, including victims, offenders, community members, and society
To seek to put right the wrongs.

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Definition of restorative justice

Restorative justice is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collectively identify and address harms, needs, and obligations, in order to heal and put things as right as possible.

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Goals of restorative justice

Restorative justice programs aim to:

put key decisions into the hands of those most affected by crime,
make justice more healing and, ideally, more transformative, and
reduce the likelihood of future offenses.

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Goals of restorative justice

Achieving these goals requires that:

victims are involved in the process and come out of it satisfied,
offenders understand how their actions have affected other people and take responsibility for those actions,
outcomes help to repair the harms done and address the reasons for the offense (specific plans are tailored to the victim’s and the offender’s needs), and
victim and offender both gain a sense of “closure,” and both are reintegrated into the community.

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Guiding questions of restorative justice

Who has been hurt?
What are their needs?
Whose obligations are these?
Who has a stake in this situation?
What is the appropriate process to involve stakeholders in an effort to put things right?

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Signposts of restorative justice

1. Focus on the harms of crime rather than the rules that have been broken.
2. Show equal concern and commitment to victims and offenders, involving both in the process of justice.
3. Work toward the restoration of victims, empowering them and responding to their needs as they see them.
4. Support offenders, while encouraging them to understand, accept, and carry out their obligations.
5. Recognize that while obligations may be difficult for offenders, those obligations should not be intended as harms, and they must be achievable.

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Signposts of restorative justice

6. Provide opportunities for dialogue, direct or indirect, between victim and offender as appropriate.
7. Find meaningful ways to involved the community and to respond to the community bases of crime.
8. Encourage collaboration and reintegration of both victims and offenders, rather than coercion and isolation.
9. Give attention to the unintended consequences of your actions and program.
10. Show respect to all parties—victims, offenders, justice colleagues.

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Models of restorative justice

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Several models

Victim-offender mediation. ...
Conferencing. ...
Circle processes. ...
Community panels or boards. ...
Victim-surrogate programmes. ...
Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs)

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Several models

The type and content of the models vary in different regions and jurisdictions, reflecting their legal, socio-political and cultural contexts.
Restorative justice programmes can be categorized in numerous ways
A continuum of restorative potential, ranging from 'fully restorative' to 'partly restorative'.
Depends on several features, such as the level of participation of those affected in the restorative process, the degree of accountability provided by the process, or the outcomes the processes achieved.

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Victim – offender mediation

Victim-offender mediation, also known as victim-offender dialogue, victim-offender conferencing or victim-offender reconciliation programme
Emerged in the 1970s
One of the most widely used restorative justice models in the criminal justice system

Although named victim-offender mediation, it is important to note that this restorative practice differs from mediation in other areas, such as civil and commercial mediation.

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Victim – offender mediation

Victim-offender mediation is a meeting between victim and offender facilitated by a trained third party to discuss the impact of the offence and to seek a way to resolve the issue.
A victim-offender mediation process starts with separate meetings of facilitator(s) with victim and offender:
to assess case suitability and
to ensure that the offender is willing to take responsibility for the harm.
Preliminary meetings are followed by a joint conversation, in which the parties can express their feelings, tell their stories, and talk about how to address the harm.
Both parties may bring supporters into the dialogue process.

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Victim – offender mediation

Agreements often include:
apologies,
compensation for the material or immaterial harm done,
restitution, and
services to the victim.
Often, there is a follow-up arrangement to monitor the offender's fulfilment of the agreements.
Mostly, victim-offender mediation includes face-to-face encounters, but indirect meetings are possible as well, usually at the request of the victim.

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Conferencing

Conferencing is a process that involves a wider circle of participants than just the offender and victim, such as family members, friends, and community representatives.
The goals of conferencing are often broader in scope.
In addition to the objectives of victim-offender mediation, conferencing also seeks to:
enable the offender to recognize the impact that their offence has had on not only the victim and their families but also their own family and friends;
and provide all parties with an opportunity to restore relationships.

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Conferencing

First developed in 1989 in New Zealand, family group conferencing is used in the fields of youth justice and child protection.
With respect to youth justice, this process includes the young offender and the family, police, victim and support people.
Conferencing allows the family of the young person, as well as the victim and their supporters, to be actively involved in the decision-making process.

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Circle processes�

Circle processes involve a wider range of participants in a decision-making process that are guided by values such as respect, honesty, trust and equality
Circles are facilitated by one or two trained 'circle keepers'.
Participants agree on values and norms to guide the process, and a 'talking piece', a physical object that often has significance to the group or the facilitator, is passed around from person to person, to give each participant uninterrupted speaking rights.

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Circle processes�

The circle format symbolizes the equality of participants, while the talking piece enables everyone to have equal voice in the deliberations without being interrupted.
Circles are highly effective processes to address power imbalances and to achieve collaborative outcomes.

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Circle process

It can be used in a variety of settings within or outside of the criminal justice system.
In criminal matters, they are used to develop a plan for addressing the crime and its underlying causes.
Circle processes may involve victims, offenders, their supporters, community members and justice professionals.

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Circle process

Circle processes (mostly known as peacemaking, healing or sentencing circles) were developed in Canada and later in the United States to deliver alternative processes to court proceedings and reduce overrepresentation of indigenous offenders in prisons.
Drawing on circle processes used in various forms by Aboriginal or Native American communities, circles strongly emphasize community empowerment and involvement in decision-making.
The Four Circles of Hollow Water in Manitoba, Canada, illustrates the use of healing circles as a collective response to harm experienced over a long time in a community.

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Circle process

In Australia, circle sentencing is used in some Indigenous Courts, which were set up to provide culturally appropriate alternatives to conventional criminal justice courts and involve indigenous communities in the courts' sentencing.
As they primarily focus on offender rehabilitation, they cannot be regarded as fully restorative, but they include restorative elements.

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Community panels or boards

Community panels or boards are used to hold young or low-level offenders directly accountable to a group of community or tribal representatives.
These processes aim to provide the offender the opportunity to take responsibility in a constructive way and address the harms and needs of the victim and the community.
The community board or panel decides on a suitable sanction that enables the offender to redress the harm and give something back to the community.
It is a process that aims for reparative outcomes, based on strong community participation in decision-making.

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Victim-surrogate programmes

In cases where victims do not wish to participate directly in a restorative process for various reasons, victim-surrogate programmes provide the opportunity for the victim to be replaced by a chosen representative.
'Surrogate' victims act on behalf of the victim to reflect their needs, and to bring the victim's perspective into the restorative process.

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Victim-surrogate programmes

Other types of surrogate programmes are often used in prison or treatment settings, for example victim empathy and awareness programmes.
Here, offenders meet with victims of other crimes to gain a greater insight into the kind of harm they have caused their victims, and to process their experience together with other offenders.
A well-known example is the Sycamore Tree Project developed by Prison Fellowship International, which is an in-prison programme to bring together victims and unrelated offenders.

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Victim-surrogate programmes

The Sycamore Tree Project is a 5 – 8 week programme in operation in prisons in more than 30 countries worldwide, including Bolivia, Nigeria, Colombia, Senegal, Ukraine, USA, Fiji, Kyrgyzstan, Australia, The Netherlands and Germany.
Based on restorative justice principles, the programme gives the opportunity for offenders to meet with a victim of an unrelated crime to share experiences and understand the impact of crime.
The face-to-face meetings encourage a deeper understanding about the effects of crime, and open the way for a dialogue about responsibility, restoration, reparation and healing.

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Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs)

Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) have been used by various countries to address the aftermath of large-scale crimes of political violence, state sanctioned human rights abuses and the legacy of colonial exploitation and slavery.

Examples:

the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa (1995-2002);
the Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation, in Timor-Leste (2002-2005);
the Rwandan Truth Commission, which commenced in 1999 and was made permanent in 2002;
the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Peru (2001-2003);
a range of Truth Commissions in the United States that have sought to address racially motivated crimes and injustices (for a global database of TRCs see the website of the United States Institute of Peace).

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Truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs)

The mandate for each TRC relates to the specificities of past abuses in each context or country
TRCs generally involve research and reporting on the respective abuses, and offer a forum for victims, their families and perpetrators to share their personal accounts.
There is considerable scholarship on whether restorative justice principles are complementary to, and reflected in, respective national TRCs (see, Ghana's National Reconciliation Commission; restorative justice and the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission; and restorative justice dimensions of the TRC in Sierra Leone).

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The use of restorative justice in criminal matters

There is considerable variation in the implementation of restorative justice processes worldwide.
Can be differentiated by examining the various roles that restorative justice plays in relation to the criminal justice system.
Restorative justice processes may be integrated into justice systems, form a component of diversion programmes, or be used outside of the justice system
There are further differences in the way restorative justice services are administered (e.g. community based services, police-based programmes, court-based programmes), and whether restorative encounters are facilitated by professionals or trained volunteers.

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Use at all stages of the criminal justice system

Restorative justice programmes may be used at any stage of the criminal justice system
This includes:
the pre-charge (police),
pretrial (prosecution) and
sentencing (court), and
post sentencing stages.

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Use at all stages of the criminal justice system

Several regional standards and country jurisdictions encourage the use of restorative justice at all stages of the criminal procedure.
In Germany, the Code of Criminal Procedure (1987, section 155a) requires that judges and prosecutors consider victim-offender mediation at every stage of the criminal proceedings and, in appropriate cases, work towards its use. In appropriate cases, the accused person should be informed of the possibility of victim-offender mediation at their first hearing (German Code of Criminal Procedure, 1987, section 136)).
The offender's effort to achieve reconciliation with the victim has to be considered when establishing the sentence.

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Use at all stages of the criminal justice system

In many countries, restorative justice is most often applied at the pre-trial stage, as a form of diversion from prosecution, particularly in cases concern children.
In several African countries, for example, including Uganda, South Sudan, and The Kingdom of Lesotho, which "use diversionary measures for juvenile justice that involve customary law conflict resolution«
In Uganda village courts facilitate "reconciliation, compensation, restitution, caution and other restorative remedies for the parties«
In The Kingdom of Lesotho, restorative processes at the grassroots level include "child justice committees«

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Ward tribunals in Tanzania

Tanzania has a long history of reconciliation through ward tribunals (see Ward Tribunals Act:

https://www.tanzanialaws.com/index.php/principal-legislation/ward-tribunals-act

Tribunals operate at the community level, and comprise four to eight elected members to facilitate mediation in the interests of restoring harmony.
All interested parties, and their families, may attend and provide evidence.
Accountability mechanisms include "compensation, restitution, apologies, fines, corporal punishment and community service"

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Victim-offender mediation in Austria

Victim-offender mediation (called Tatausgleich) can be used as a diversionary measure prior to, or at, a court appearance for offences with a maximum punishment for 5 years.
Further prerequisites for case diversion include that the facts and circumstances of the case have been adequately clarified, the offence is not punishable by imprisonment of more than 5 years, and the accused is willing to assume responsibility and take measures to compensate for the harm.

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Victim-offender mediation in Austria

Public prosecutors are the main gatekeepers in this process, exercising their discretion to refer cases to restorative processes.
Cases are referred to the central provider of victim-offender mediation, NEUSTART, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Justice, which offers further community service measures. In cases where an agreement has been reached and fulfilled, the charge will usually be dropped.
If charges have been brought before the court, the judge can decide to close the case after successful completion of the agreement.
Mediators take part in comprehensive four-year training, which is given by the central provider

https://www.neustart.at/en/probation/

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Use at all stages of the criminal justice systems

The Council of Europe has led on the development of a range of recommendations and documents refer to restorative justice at the post sentence stage
Council of Europe Recommendation (2018)
European Rules for Juvenile Offenders Subject to Sanctions and Measures (2008)
European Prison Rules (2006)

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Use at all stages of the criminal justice systems

The importance of restorative justice at the later stages of the criminal justice process has also been articulated, at the international level, in the Doha Declaration (article 5 (j))

https://www.unodc.org/documents/congress/Declaration/V1504151_English.pdf

In practice there is still room to improve the application of restorative practices in the context of prison and probation.

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Use at all stages of the criminal justice systems

Restorative justice in prisons offers promising potential to enhance the offenders' reintegration into the community, prevent reoffending, help generate important social ties and provide victims with a sense of closure
Research on prison-based programmes has also revealed significant improvements in prisoners' empathy towards victims and attitudinal changes towards offending behaviour

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Listen for inspiration to:

Kevin Lamoureux. Truth and Reconciliation

https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_lamoureux_truth_and_reconciliation

Chief Dr Robert Joseph. Healing a Nation Through Truth and Reconciliation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJQgpuLq1LI

Shannon Sliva. How restorative justice could end mass incarceration

https://www.ted.com/talks/how_restorative_justice_could_end_mass_incarceration

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