VOM services, a hopeful reality for the Basque country

Source: (2008) European Forum for Restorative Justice. 9(1):4

The aims of the Victim Offender Mediation service are: (1)to offer a mediation process in the different phases of penal process (instruction, judgment and execution), (2) to give an opportunity to the person who has suffered a crime (not only misdemeanors, but also serious crimes) and to the accused person, (3) to participate in a voluntary and confidential process inside the criminal justice system, (4) to give to the parties the opportunity to participate actively in the process in order to solve the conflict with the participation of the mediator with the approval of the judge and the prosecutor, (5) to make victims and offenders central to the transformation of the conflict, (6) to enrich the process by solving the conflict through a communication process between the different parties involved in the crime, which is a better system than the formal process, that does not admit subjective considerations, (7) to give a chance to the offender to accept responsibility for the harm done to the victim and offer to make reparation for the harm done, (8) to offer a wider understanding of the judicial process for both parties, (9) to reduce the workload of courts. (Excerpt)