Handbook on Restorative justice programmes

HANDBOOK ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMMES
45 
Miers, 2001, p. 78. 
46 
Van Ness, 2005.

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앫 eliminate or reduce legal barriers to the use of restorative justice
programmes (including, when necessary, establishing the discre-
tionary decision-making authority of law enforcement and other jus-
tice officials)
앫 create legal inducement for using restorative programmes
앫 provide guidance and structure for restorative justice programmes
앫 ensure protection of the rights of offenders and victims participat-
ing in restorative programmes
앫 set out guiding principles and mechanisms for monitoring adher-
ence to those principles
Depending on the legal system, a law may be required to provide judicial
control procedures to evaluate the mediation process and its outcome in
light of certain legal principles such as, for example, equality, proportion-
ality, and no double-jeopardy (a person cannot be prosecuted twice for
the same offence).
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The right to appeal decisions/agreements not con-
sented to freely or otherwise the result of a poorly managed process
should exist in law. The right to resort back to the normal criminal justice
process when one of the parties is no longer able to consent to the restora-
tive process or wishes to withdraw from it should be assured. This may or
may not foreclose further options which may be restorative in nature.
In some countries, a legislated mandate for new programmes is required
in order to engage government funding and to ensure that sufficient fund-
ing is provided to sustain restorative programmes.
Jurisdictions may also supplement the legal authority for restorative
processes with various types of policy that encourage the use of restorative
approaches and set out the procedures for how this is to be accomplished. 
Legislation and policy on the use of restorative processes generally
include provisions for both juvenile and adult offenders, although in most
jurisdictions the provisions for juvenile offenders are more extensively
developed.