Source: (2010) In, Melinda Gyokos and Krisztina Lanyi, eds., European best practices of restorative justice in criminal Procedure. Budapest: Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement, Republic of Hungary.pp. 213-216.
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)
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