Abstract
Within the Italian criminal justice system, the role of the victim has become increasingly important. Despite this trend, the victim still stands on the edge of the post-sentencing stage. This is reflected in the fact that the topic of the victim-offender mediation has been analysed deeply as a kind of diversion to the trial but not, or at least far less, in relation to the issues concerning the enforcement of penalty. The paper is aimed at filling this gap. As a starting point, it is to be highlighted that the irrevocability of the conviction poses advantages but also critical aspects in the perspective of reconciliation. In this context, surely the effort of the convicted person to review his/her criminal past critically and rebuild his/her relationships with the victim plays a central role. However, according to the restorative justice model, an interaction between the victim and the offender shall take place. This means that both parties have to assume a proactive role in the attempt of mutually rectifying, with the assistance of a mediator, the conflict originated by the commission of the offence. The analysis of both the provisions and the case law on probation (article 47 comma 7 ord. penit.) and volunteer work (art. 21 comma 4-ter ord. penit.) points out that the mentioned key-principles are not abided. Against this background, a radical change is proposed in order to introduce a mediation model based on individualized and relational elements in the post-sentencing stage.
Keywords
Enforcement of penalty; victim-offender mediation; restorative justice; probation; volunteer work