Evolution of restorative justice within the penal system with an approach to comparative law

Abstract

This article is the result of a documentary review aimed at learning about the evolution of Restorative Justice in America, Oceania, and Europe. Through hermeneutics, we used the exegetical method with the aim of visualizing the transformation of criminal law in the 20th century. The documentary analysis method was applied, with a non-experimental qualitative approach. The first backgrounds were found in Ontario in 1974, however, the analysis observed different restorative processes established by the United Nations, the significance of Restorative Justice in the international arena was also determined, as a new paradigm of justice, essentially more humane with an emphasis on the social dimension of crime. It was concluded that restorative programs are mainly focused on peaceful ways to fix controversies in order to approach the needs of the victims, the offenders and the community injured by the crime, based on the restructuring of the social harmony and thus leaving the conventional criminal process behind.