“Italian experiences of victim-offender mediation in the juvenile justice system.”

Source: (1998) In Restorative justice for juveniles: Potentialities, risks and problems for research, ed. Lode Walgrave, 201-217. A selection of papers presented at the International Conference, Leuven, May 12-14, 1997. With a preface by Lode Walgrave. Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press.

The authors analyze the development of mediation and reparation practices within the juvenile justice system in Italy. At the outset they summarize several models of response to juvenile crime: welfare; justice; non-intervention; corporatism; and restorative. They then sketch phases in the evolution of the juvenile justice system in Italy, and they point out how certain phases were characterized by a general adherence to one or another of these models. The possibility of applying restorative ideas and practices became possible with legislation in 1988. In particular, victim-offender mediation has gained attention, but in general in a limited and experimental manner. To detail this situation in Italy, the authors cover the following areas: the definition of mediation in criminal procedure; the process of victim-offender mediation as structured by Italian legislation; initial experiments in mediation in Italy; what kinds of crimes should be subject to mediation, and who should be involved; specific cases and results; and speculation on a new understanding of the concept of responsibility within the context of mediation.