A justiça restaurativa e a mediação penal

: ponto de encontro entre agressor e vítima

Abstract

Defined as a "process in which the victim and the offender, and, where appropriate, any other individuals or community members affected by a crime, actively participate in resolving the issues arising from the crime, usually with the help of a facilitator"2, restorative justice emerged in the 1970s as a way to address the shortcomings presented by traditional criminal law. Influenced by victimological and feminist movements, restorative justice intends to place the victim in the center of the interests aimed at with the resolution of litigation, allowing the resolution of the criminal case that opposes victim and aggressor through dialogue between them, the confrontation of ideals and the reaching of an agreement that portrays the vision, the objectives and the claims of both, allowing the empowerment of the victim through the accountability of the agent. Penal mediation is considered the restorative practice with the greatest impact and implementation, being regulated in Portugal by law 21/2007, June 12th. This restorative process aims at the resolution of the offense that opposes victim and offender through an agreement between them, with the intermediation of an impartial third party: the mediator. In this way, restorative justice - and, specifically, penal mediation - allows placing victim and offender in contact, allowing both to dialogue as equals, questioning each other and communicating with a view to reaching a consensus on the final agreement, truly functioning as a meeting point between offender and victim. Despite aiming at the repair and restoration of the damage caused by the crime, the practices inserted in the restorative universe allow the pursuit of purposes proper to traditional criminal law, enabling the integration of the perpetrator in society and the protection of protected legal goods.

Date of Award	22 Oct 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Pedro Garcia Marques (Supervisor)