An analysis of restorative justice under the Restorative Justice Act

Abstract

The enactment of the Restorative Justice Act brought for the first-time Restorative Justice within the Maltese justice sphere. Restorative justice, as a concept encompasses a wide number of facets and in trying to define it the study engaged a critical analysis of its main principles and practices. These all point to one notion underpinning restorative justice: the coming together of the main stakeholders of a crime. Research has shown that prior to the establishment of the Act, already attempts were made to encompass restorative justice principles, in a move to distinguish Maltese justice from its retributive embodiment. In spite of these, restorative justice practices introduced by the Act (that of victim-offender mediation), have perturbingly not left any concrete impact on the Maltese justice system. This is notwithstanding the setting up of the Victim- Offender committee tasked with the promoting and overseeing of victim-offender mediation and the numerous safeguards set up by the Act, in line with Council of Europe and United Nations recommendations, to ensure victim-offender mediation results in restoration of both parties. This study aimed to uncover what has hampered the use of victim-offender mediation, with the findings illustrating that the problem may lie within the preparation for and the composition of the Act but critically also may be deeply ingrained within society’s culture itself. In conclusion, this study finds that a change in the law and more promotion and information given about restorative justice would ultimately provide a solid ground for use of restorative justice in the future and an effective implementation of the Act.