Restorative Justice in the Republic of Macedonia and the Possibility of Its Application in Juvenile Delinquency with Special Emphasis on the Work of the Mediator, as a European Tendence

Abstract

This paper aims to demonstrate and explain the notion, meaning and concept of restorative justice and the possibility of its application in juvenile delinquency. In fact here we will discuss the benefits and social progress that provides this law concept. The essence of restorative justice is that the society does not respond against the offender with a sentence, but its tendency is to find the way to reconcile and compensate the damage. So, according to this concept of law the society don’t retaliate the offender but finds a way and manner for the offender to reimburse and repay the consequences of his action and thereafter to reconcile with the victim. This law concept emerged three decades ago, but has not found wide application in practice yet and is not very popular. Therefore, the restorative justice is mostly understood as a concept, as a movement or a reaction model of the society after the criminal offense. First of all, not only the perpetrator and the victim are getting engaged in the resolving of the conflict, but the community also, because of the criminal act committed, directly or indirectly are affected other members of society. So in these cases, the community is very interested to solve the conflict between the offender and the victim by peaceful means in order the community to be satisfied. In a few words, the purpose of this right is the modern society to relinquish the traditional concept of punishment and revenge against the offenders and the introduction of new rules of informal (extrajudicial) settlement of criminal case, where the victim and the offender are the only one who discuss the damage compensation to the victim and reintegration of the offender in society.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n2s1p162