eng: live_page

One mistake can change your life. Forever. This is not a thriller slogan: this is about true stories of children who have broken the law.

Ukraine has practically no alternative kinds of punishment except for imprisonment. So underage people who commit even a minor offence, such as petty theft, risk ending up in prison. And after being in a criminal environment, children commit repeated offences more often.

Nobody is not immune to mistakes which can cost you your freedom. Just like nobody is immune to becoming a victim of a crime.

Is it possible to save a child who has committed an offence? Yes! Restorative justice gives a second chance to underage first-time offenders who have committed a petty or medium-severity crime. Ukraine already has a pilot project which allows to get children out of the criminal process.

During the discussion, we will talk about how adjusted the Ukrainian law is to the application of restorative justice; how to interest all the parties to the criminal process in applying restorative justice; what are the characteristics of working with the injured party. And whether there are age limitations to the use of restorative justice, and whether the penal system can be a part of the mechanism of restorative justice.

Speakers:

• Oleksandr Baranov, acting director of the Coordination Centre for Providing Legal Assistance
• Roman Koval, mediator, chairman of the board of the Institute of Peace and Understanding NGO
• Iryna Shyba, moderator, expert in the justice reform, restorative justice and justice for children
• Marharyta Zhuravliova, head of the Department of Psychological and Other Research of the Odesa Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Science of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
• Mother of a participant of the Restorative Programme for Underage People Suspected of Committing a Crime