Restorative justice as an alternative form ofjuvenile criminal procedures

The paper describes the problems of restorative justice in juvenile delinquency cases in the national criminal procedure. The idea of restorative justice is based on the fact that in criminal proceedings for certain categories of cases when the offence is committed by a juvenile offender, the harm caused to a certain person can be refunded or otherwise redressed. The principle of inevitability of punishment can be replaced by the principle of obligatory reparation and redress. The main objective of restorative justice is to promote and protect the rights of juvenile delinquents, primarily their right to a well-being and decent life. Renunciation of criminal measures and (or) their minimization within the restorative justice is aimed at implementing the interests of both the child and society as a whole. However, the current criminal justice system is not focused on solving the problems of the victim resulting from the criminal assault. It is very important for the victim to feel secure and confident and to have their rights restored, which is the main goal of restorative justice. Restorative justice has pedagogical effect on the offender, too. Unlike conventional forms of legal proceedings where the court imposes a sentence, restorative justice implies that the juvenile delinquent determines his/her degree of responsibility and pledges to implement it, which fosters responsibility, respect for the dignity and rights of the individual, and active social position. Unfortunately, the present law enforcement practice does not identify the the rights and interests of the child with those of the public authorities. Restorative justice is mistaken by some as a procedure that reconciles the offender and the victim and therefore exempts the former from the punishment. In reality, such goal is not assigned at any cost. A lot depends on the status of the procedure: whether it is conducted simultaneously, instead of or before the criminal procedure. Determining the role of restorative justice when we deal with juveniles, it seems to be possible to establish the priority of restorative justice procedures at the stage of initiation of a criminal case. As far as the current legislation does not allow abandoning a criminal case due to feasibility of non-criminal measures to a juvenile delinquent, it seems to be possible to apply them at any stage of criminal proceedings, up to the stage of punishment execution, during the initial stage of implementation of such procedures. The Russian Criminal Code contains provisions that allow dismissal of prosecution against a juvenile delinquent, if it is recognized that his/her correctional rehabilitation can be conducted through coercive educational measures. Accordingly, if the child himself/herself assumes responsibility for the act committed and undertakes to correct the situation, it is also possible to abandon criminal prosecution. Restorative justice is characterized by a high degree of responsibility which involves active actions of the offender. The international experience suggests that a failure to satisfy voluntary commitments within the prescribed time limits shall cause, criminal prosecution recovery.

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