ABSTRACT
Over the last few decades, victim–offender mediation has become an integral part of criminal justice systems all over the world and is still gaining in importance. In the European Union, Recommendation R(85)11 on the position of victims within criminal law and criminal procedures and R(99)19 on mediation in penal matters have fostered the development of victim–offender mediation. Moreover, the Tenth United Nation Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (2000), held in Vienna, adopted the resolution that ‘we encourage the development of restorative justice policies, procedures and programmes that are respectful of the rights, needs and interests of victims, offenders, communities and all other parties. In some countries that have common law jurisdictions, family group conferencing has also been adopted.
