The fundamental premise of the Restorative Justice methodology in criminal justice is to understand crime as a violation of people and relationships, not just a violation of the law.
In accordance with the principle of specialty that governs juvenile criminal issues, the Restorative Justice model applied to the treatment of cases involving young people in conflict with the law understands that the judicialization of conflicts of this nature should be oriented toward accompanying and providing spaces for reflection and accountability that allow young people to face life projects other than crime.
To achieve this goal, the model aims to raise their awareness of the damage caused by their behavior, to voluntarily carry out reparation actions for the victims and the community in order to help re-establish the relationships affected by the conflict, and, lastly, to comply with a program that will help them reintegrate into society.
Restorative Justice models can be grouped into three broad categories: peacemaking circles, family conferencing, and victim-offender mediation.
Victim-offender mediation (also called a Restorative Justice meeting) consists of a face-to-face meeting between the offender (who may or may not be incarcerated) and the victim of a crime, with the voluntary consent of both parties. The meeting, or a series of meetings, is mediated by a facilitator with the aim of discussing the situation, its consequences, and a possible reparation agreement in favor of the victim coupled with an apology from the offender, seeking material and psychological reparation for the crime that occurred.
The Family Group Conference is a technique used to refer cases in general and juvenile cases in particular, and involves the community that is most affected by the crime when deciding how to resolve a criminal act.
Finally, restorative circles (or peacemaking circles) are circular meetings involving people directly related to the conflict, a facilitator, and other people who have an interest or who can help resolve the conflict (family, teacher, staff, community members, etc.).