FEATURES OF THE APPLICATION OF THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE INSTITUTE IN SOME EUROPIAN COUNTRIES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF FINLAND AND NORWAY)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31732/2708-339X-2026-10-A14Keywords:
Nordic legal family; restorative justice; criminal case mediation; Norway; Finland; youth sanctions; victims’ rightsAbstract
The article highlights the Scandinavian legal system as a separate legal «family» with the characteristic features of pragmatism, legal realism, trust in institutions and social orientation of criminal policy. It is shown that one of the practical projections of humanism in criminal justice is the institution of restorative justice (mediation / restorative justice), which in Norway is implemented through the National Mediation Service (Konfliktrådet) on the basis of the Act «On Conflict Resolution» of 2014, and in Finland - on the basis of the Act «On Conciliation in Criminal and Certain Civil Matters» of 2005, with organizational and statistical support from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). Based on official acts, guiding documents of the Council of Europe and the EU, scientific research and open statistics, the procedures, guarantees of the safety of participants, the place of mediation at different stages of criminal proceedings, as well as special youth sanctions in Norway (ungdomsstraff, ungdomssoppfølging) as restorative formats of punishment are specified. A comparative analysis with the Ukrainian legal system demonstrates that in Ukraine there are point-based restorative mechanisms (agreement on reconciliation under the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, exemption from criminal liability in connection with reconciliation under the Criminal Code of Ukraine, probation institutions), but there is no single framework law and coordinator of the restorative justice service (restorative justice, hereinafter – RJ) in criminal cases. The conclusions propose steps for implementing Scandinavian practices (special law, national coordinator, sustainable budget sources, standards and training of mediators, safe procedures for vulnerable victims, pilots for youth sanctions), and also outline barriers (lack of resources, fragmentation of powers, martial law, low awareness).
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