Mediation Procedure (Reconciliation) in the Criminal Proceedings Against a Minor

Abstract

The article highlights the issue of introducing the institute of mediation in Ukraine. The author reviews the main provisions of the Singapore Convention on Mediation, which enters into force on 12 September 2020, the draft Law on Mediation (№ 3504 of 19, May 2020) submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and the alternative draft Law on Mediation (№ 3504-1 of 4, June 2020), submitted by the People's Deputies of Ukraine. The author interprets the legal status of a mediator as a specific and obligatory participant in the mediation process and substantiates the necessity and prospects of pre-trial settlement of disputes through mediation. The article highlights the concepts, principles, and forms of restorative justice and distinguishes restorative justice from official criminal proceedings. The author argues that mediation, as a form of the restorative justice, is an effective way of reconciliation of the victim with a juvenile offender. The procedure of mediation uses provisions of the criminal procedure law concerning the criminal proceedings based on agreements. In view of this, the authors suggest their own ideas as to the conditions for the improvement of mediation procedure in criminal proceedings and its implementation in Ukraine. The process of reforming criminal justice for juveniles should make taking into account international recommendations and standards and move towards the implementation of restorative justice. The main reasons that hinder the spread of restorative justice in Ukraine are, first of all, the specifics of national justice, focused mainly on punishment, insufficient regulation in criminal procedure law of the procedure for concluding agreements with juvenile suspects, accused, low awareness of citizens about the opportunity of conducting restorative justice procedures in juvenile cases and ignorance about them among the participants in the criminal proceedings.