Originally from World Arbitration and Mediation Review

The Double Life of Victim-Offender Mediation in France
by
Jacques Faget
Researcher at the CNRS
Institute of Political Studies of Bordeaux
Translated by Deborah MacFarlane, Senior
Researcher, La Trobe University (Deborah
MacFarlane
In the mid-1980s, a number of French associations, supported by a
small group of magistrates, decided to try mediation in penal matters,
drawing their inspiration from initiatives originating in North America. In
response to a judicial process that the associations considered abstract,
oriented towards the past, degrading for offenders and indifferent to the
needs of victims, the associations put forward a more flexible solution,
one more respectful of individuals, more concerned to repair the damage
done by crime—one which, instead of cutting across and exacerbating
disputes, tries to unravel and assuage them.
Victim-offender mediation, as it came to be called, takes place
before the trial begins (in other countries, it is also carried out during the
trial or after sentencing) and is aimed at adults 18 years and over (the
majority of initiatives in other countries deals with minors). By virtue of
the power to choose the most appropriate course of action to take in a
criminal case, the public prosecutor can suggest mediation for the
complainant and the offender. They are referred to a mediator or to an
information session about the mediation process, which they are then free
to refuse or accept. If mediation is chosen as the preferred option, one or
more sessions are organized by the mediator (or mediators if co-mediation
is practiced) to take place within three months. This period can be
extended if necessary. On the basis of the report provided by the mediator
at the conclusion of these sessions, the public prosecutor decides whether
to proceed with the prosecution.