ABSTRACT
In 2014, French lawmakers symbolically included Article 10-1 in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the possibility of carrying out restorative processes for all types of offences and at all stages of the criminal proceedings. However, despite the fact that restorative processes are placed under the control of judicial authorities, the ministerial Circular of 15 March 2017 introduced some normative obstacles to the development of restorative responses to criminal behaviour, particularly in regard to their capacity to influence criminal proceedings. Indeed, this normative text introduced the principle of ‘autonomy’ of restorative justice, which implies a strict separation (i.e. impermeability) between restorative processes and criminal proceedings. In other words, in the French context, a ‘red line’ seems to have been drawn between institutionalised restorative justice and criminal justice. The aim of this chapter is to discuss critically this normative choice and to explore its implications for the expansion and development of restorative policies and practices in France.
