This section includes data on legislation on restorative justice, ranging from law statutes to governments’ policy. Although far from exhaustive, it does provide a snapshot of a crucial (and problematic) dimension of the recent development of restorative justice: its state-led institutionalisation.
UK Policy
Crime and Disorder Act 1998 England and Wales
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 England and Wales.
Criminal Justice Act 2003 England and Wales
Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 England and Wales
Crime and Courts Act 2013 England and Wales
Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 England and Wales
Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 England and Wales
- Relevant scholarly articles:
Scotland
The Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014.
Scottish Government (2017) Guidance for the Delivery of Restorative Justice in Scotland.
- Relevant scholarly articles
Northern Ireland
Adult Restorative Justice Strategy for NI (2022)
- Relevant scholarly articles:
France
Loi n° 2000-516 du 15 juin 2000 renforçant la protection de la présomption d’innocence et les droits des victimes (‘Law reinforcing the protection of the presumption of innocence and the victims’ rights’)
Loi n° 2014-896 du 15 août 2014 relative à l’individualisation des peines et renforçant l’efficacité des sanctions pénales (‘Law on the individualisation of punishment and strengthening the effectiveness of penal sanctions’)
- Relevant scholarly articles:
Germany
Section 46a of the Strafgesetzbuch – StGB (German Criminal Code) Section 10 Chapter 3 title 2 and Section 10 subsection 7 of the Jugendgerichtsgesetz, JGG (Juvenile Criminal Court Act).
- Relevant scholarly articles:
Italy
DPR 448/1998 condotte riparatorie e la mediazione con la persona offesa (articolo 4);
Legge 274/2000 competenza penale del giudice di pace (articolo 29)
- Relevant scholarly articles:
Norway
Lov om rettergangsmåten i straffesaker (Straffeprosessloven) 1981-05-22-25 (The Criminal Procedure Act With subsequent amendments, the latest made by Act of 21 June 2013 No. 84) (‘Code of Criminal Proceedings’).
Lov om konfliktrådsbehandling (Konfliktrådsloven) 1991-03-15-3 (now 2014-06-20-49) (‘The Mediation Service Act’).
- Relevant scholarly articles:
US Policy
- Relevant scholarly articles:
- Shannon Sliva & Carolyn G. Lambert (2015) Restorative Justice Legislation in the American States: A Statutory Analysis of Emerging Legal Doctrine, Journal of Policy Practice, 14:2, 77-95, DOI: 10.1080/15588742.2015.1017687
- Shannon Sliva (2017) A tale of two states: how U.S. state legislatures consider restorative justice policies, Contemporary Justice Review, 20:2, 255-273, DOI: 10.1080/10282580.2017.1307111
- Shannon Sliva, Mariah Shaw & Tyler M. Han (2020) Policy to practice: an implementation case study in restorative justice, Contemporary Justice Review, 23:4, 527-543, DOI: 10.1080/10282580.2019.1700371
CoE Policy
Recommendation No. R. 19/1999 concerning mediation in penal matters.
- Relevant scholarly articles:
EU Policy
EU Directive 2012/29/EU establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime (Victims’ Directive).
- Relevant scholarly articles:
UN Policy
1985 Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power.
2002 Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in Criminal Matters.
‘By participating in policy debates the very best one can achieve is to limit the damage, since the very premise is inimical to the idea of people managing their own affairs’.
David Graeber