RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: "MEDIATION IN THE CRIMINAL FIELD"

Criminal Law is increasingly used to solve social problems by hardening punishment, and increasing, as a result, the number of court interventions, which does not provide an appropriate response for the parties, putting aside the vulnerable situation the victims are in. Based on restorative justice, criminal mediation seeks the reparation of the harm produced by punishable behaviors inflicted upon the people and the society, and it urges the parties to take an active role in the process. In this article we will consider the conflicts that are dealt with in the criminal field, how these conflicts are managed in our criminal system, what is the contribution of mediation based on Restorative Justice, and what legislation applies to it.