Tools in Network: an E-Net Approach to Sharing Mediation Competences.

Introduction: the difficulties of a univocal definition

From a semantic point of view, it is not easy to find an exact and universally accepted definition of "reparative justice".

It is a many-sided entity with blurred outlines, characterised by the great mobility of its contents (G. MANNOZZI, La giustizia senza spada, Giuffrè, 2003, p. 44). By focusing on individual aspects, it is possible to label it in different ways: we can talk of restorative justice, reparative justice, new justice, relational justice, positive justice, etc? depending on what we take into account: the innovative character of the model, the person the reparation is meant for, the content of the reparation or the relational aspect of the conflict.

According to Lode Walgrave, 'restorative' justice is that model of justice ? different from the 'retributive' paradigm and from the 're-educational' one ? which mainly aims at the reparation of the sufferings and damages provoked by the criminal event. It is different from the punitive retributive justice - which is typical of classical penal systems ? where the focus is on the gravity of the deed rather than on its consequences, on the author rather than on the victim, and it is quite the opposite of re-educational justice, which once again focuses on offenders though paying more attention to their needs and to preventive measures. In fact restorative justice puts the stress on the damage caused by the offence and on the offended person. Therefore it represents the last stage of that slow and incoherent process of "humanization" of punishment, developed by progressively substituting punitive ideas with less afflictive and probably more effective conceptions of punishment.

Howard Zehr defines it as the paradigm of justice involving "the victim, the offender and the community looking for a solution which can promote reparation, reconciliation and reassurance". Burnside and Baker put the stress on the communicative aspect and on the concept of offence meant as a 'relational conflict'. This conflict takes place even when the offender does not personally know the victim, as it breaks the reciprocal citizen compact. In this respect, the peculiar element of the restorative model is the reconstruction of the relational bond which has been interrupted by the criminal event.

Tony Marshall identifies restorative justice with that particular process involving all the parties which are interested in facing the effects of the offence, for a common management of its consequences and future implications. According to the Author, 'the effects deriving from the offence' consist both in the need for material reparation and in the importance given to the victims' emotional needs.

Summing up, the common denominator for many of the definitions offered by doctrine is the focus on the victim: the reparative paradigm aims at 'treating' the harm and the physical, moral and material suffering the offended person and/or the community has undergone, instead of focusing on the punishment or the re-educational treatment of the offender. In this perspective, its aim is to overcome the idea of an offence meant as the 'violation of a juridical regulation' in order to replace it with the idea of an illegal act as the 'offence of an individual', or rather of a multiplicity of individuals: the direct victim, the indirect victim (the community) and the offender (who is him/herself a victim, as he/she is marginalized by the community). Another characterizing element of reparative justice is that it is carried out essentially through autonomous instruments, among which the most important one is "mediation". Nevertheless, it uses several techniques which are already known to the penal system (such as restitution, compensation and community work, which we will talk about later).

In conclusion, in a wider perspective, reparative justice is a new paradigm representing the possible evolution of making justice. In this respect it is not simply a third way, but a real autonomous and alternative system of making justice, which ultimately aims at social pacification, through the diffusion of the culture of parties' meeting and reconciling.