Mediation in juvenile justice: a perspective assessment

The Russian legislator is currently following international trends that determine the development of restorative justice for minors, the application of the principles of humanization and liberalization of criminal responsibility and punishment. The Russian criminal procedure provides for separate mechanisms that allow the release from criminal liability and punishment, in particular, they include compulsory measures of educational influence and the possibility of reconciliation with the victim in a criminal case. The subject of the study is individual legal norms that establish the specifics of mediation in Russian legal reality while mentioning the used foreign experience; scientific literature on this topic. The purpose of the work is to consider the potential possibility of introducing the mediation into the Russian criminal process in the administration of juvenile justice. The methods used include general scientific (analysis, synthesis, system) and private scientific, among which a special place is given to the formal legal one. The relevance of this author's research is due to the ongoing scientific discussions on this topic, while the voiced points of view are contradictory. The scientific novelty of the research is associated with the conducted critical analysis of a large number of author's points of view, on the basis of which the author formulated and justified his own conclusions. In the end, the author comes to the conclusion that despite the possible positive impact of mediation for resolving legal conflicts, its use in juvenile justice is more rational in relation to persons who have not reached the age of criminal responsibility, and it is more expedient to be guided by existing norms in the criminal process. Consequently, changes in the criminal procedure legislation in this part are not required.

criminal liability, punishment, minors, juvenile offenders, mediation, reconciliation with the victim, juvenile justice, release from liability, compulsory educational measures, restorative justice