“Restorative justice in a European perspective.”

Source: (1999) Paper presented at the Restorative Justice Ireland Network 1999 conference.

In this presentation Aertsen examines restorative justice in the European context. While the term may be relatively unfamiliar in Europe, as compared to victim-offender mediation, it can be argued that victim-offender mediation is the most significant expression of restorative justice in Europe. Hence, Aertsen begins by defining restorative justice. He then surveys the status of victim-offender mediation in European countries, including issues relating to its impact, types of cases, organizational model or structure, legislation, method of mediation, and evaluative findings. Consideration is also given to supranational developments pertinent to mediation, and to challenges facing the expansion of mediation in relation to European criminal justice systems.