The 30th anniversary of the Statute for Children and Adolescents and the possible perspectives from Restorative Justice: abolitionist inflows in times of punitive expansion based on academic extension programs

Abstract

This paper aims to reflect on Brazil's Youth Justice system on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Statute for Children and Adolescents' approval (Federal Law No. 8069/1990). Not limited to purely technical analysis, the study seeks to highlight aspects of how the current reality was constructed throughout the political-criminal and historical processes, from the colonial period to contemporary times. Besides, this study presents the possibility of applying Restorative Justice within the scope of Youth Justice, even in the face of the punitive expansion scenario that indicates the present historical period. From a theoretical perspective, the focus established in this paper favors bibliographic research, emphasizing authors such as Zehr⁴, Dünkel; Horsfield & Păroşanu⁵, Achutti⁶, among others. Nevertheless, the study relies on an empirical approach through which restorative actions, carried out within the scope of the academic extension program NEPCrim (Extension and Research Unit in Criminal Sciences, Faculty of Law, Federal University of Juiz de Fora), are reported through the project Além da Culpa: Justiça Restaurativa para adolescentes [Beyond Guilt: Restorative Justice for teenagers], developed in partnership with the local Public Defender's Office. This methodological proposition intends to highlight highlights how Restorative Justice has been developed in practice, its challenges, perspectives, and commitment to libertarian practices.

Keywords:
30 years of ECA [Statute for Children and Adolescents]; Historical evolution, Criminal Justice Policy; Restorative Justice