Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi court passes first judgment under Restorative Justice program

The Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of Odesa Oblast has issued the first decision following the consideration of criminal proceedings under the Restorative Justice Program.

According to the Judiciary portal, the court found that during the pre-trial investigation, the minor accused under Article 125(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (intentional light bodily injury that caused a short-term health disorder or minor disability) and the minor victim participated in the Restorative Justice Program with the participation of minors.

According to the information on the results of mediation within the restorative justice program in the form of mediation, the mediation between the victim and the accused was terminated due to the conclusion of an agreement based on the results of mediation.

As a result of the case, the criminal proceedings were closed due to the victim's refusal to be charged in criminal proceedings in the form of private prosecution.

International practice

European countries have long been implementing the concept of waiver of exclusive punishment and the possibility of reconciliation between the victim and the perpetrator. Thus, in 2001, the Council of the European Union adopted the Framework Decision on the Status of Victims in Criminal Proceedings, which obliges all EU states to promote mediation in criminal cases and ensure that any agreements between the victim and the offender reached in the course of mediation are accepted for consideration.

In line with European and international practices, since 2019, Ukraine has implemented a pilot project "Restorative Program for Minors Suspected of Committing a Criminal Offense" (the so-called restorative justice), which is implemented on the basis of the free legal aid system with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Ukraine. According to modern international and European concepts of human rights protection, there is a tendency to abandon an exclusively punitive response to a crime, as such a response to a crime cannot adequately ensure the rights of both the perpetrators and the victims.

Кирило Бойко