Handbook on Restorative justice programmes

Programme operation

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Paragraph 17 of the Basic Principles stipulates that “failure to implement
an agreement made in the course of a restorative process should be
referred back to the restorative programme or, where required by national
law, to the established criminal justice process and a decision as to how to
proceed should be taken without delay”. Failure to fulfil an agreement,
other than a judicial decision or judgement, should not be used as justifi-
cation for a more severe sentence in subsequent criminal justice proceed-
ings. An interview can be held with the offender as to what happened and
to determine whether there was a failure on the part of support agencies. 
For example, in Austria, when an offender fails to make the financial pay-
ments agreed upon as an outcome of a victim-offender mediation agree-
ment, the social worker/mediator responsible the case will contact the
offender and enquire about the reasons for the failure to pay. Generally, a
solution can be found to the situation. However, if there is no response
from the offender despite repeated interventions and written reminders,
the case is referred back to the state prosecutor’s office for continuation.
The mediator informs the victim of the possibility of claiming compensa-
tion either in the course of the criminal procedure or by initiating civil pro-
ceedings.