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Description
The project aims to strengthen the ability of professional groups closely linked to the administration of criminal justice in the Czech Republic to more effectively protect and fulfill human rights, based on the conscious use of restorative principles in their practice.
The project aims to change the perception of the current disciplinary model of criminal justice in the Czech Republic, in which a person becomes the subject of law in their own criminal proceedings, without the possibility of their own participation or meeting their real needs, both on the part of perpetrators and victims.
Modern human rights doctrine and international obligations are putting pressure on the reflection of such a conception of justice. They emphasize the principle of horizontal participation, meeting the needs of individuals, creating a quality relationship by engaging restorative principles in the administration of criminal justice, see: Council of Europe Recommendation on Restorative Justice in Criminal Matters, CM / Rec (2018) 8; EU Directive on Victims of Crime, 2012/29/EU; EU Strategy on Crime Victims (2020-2025) etc.
Based on the elaborated analysis, we will publish recommendations for the Czech legislation, towards a participatory model by involving restorative principles. We will promote the implementation of recommendations by educating the professional public and advocacy activities.
We will also deal intensively with the education of civil society. The activities will aim to inform about the advantages and benefits of restorative justice in the form of screenings, discussions and sharing of good practice, so that society itself requires the use of restorative principles at all stages of criminal proceedings and thus creates pressure with us for the necessary change.
Summary of project results
The current system of administration of criminal justice is based on the principle setting of the Criminal Procedure Code of 1961, when it states (§1) that the main purpose of criminal proceedings is to find and punish the offender. It is a rigid system that argues that punishment as retribution and suffering of the offender is an effective way to restore the disturbed balance and find justice. The system, at a purposeful level, lacks the support of the offender in accepting responsibility for the crime he or she has caused and understanding the consequences on the victim''s life. Rather than creating effective tools that, in the spirit of the Norwegian motto "educating our future neighbors", will lead offenders to internal and lasting transformation, the system is at odds with international and European trends.
The current setup does not even focus on the victim and their actual needs (maximizing the victim''s recovery, restoring relationships broken by the crime, or otherwise repairing the actual harm), resulting in the victim carrying unresolved conflict that may negatively impact their future life.
Modern human rights doctrine creates pressure to reflect on such a conception of justice. The denial of the ability to make decisions on issues that affect a person profoundly leads to the maintenance of a system that does not reflect the needs of those whom the system is supposed to serve. This includes both the direct participants, the marginalised groups affected by structural inequalities, and ultimately society as a whole.
1. Strengthening the non-profit organization
- Facilitation and supervision of the team → Document Internal regulations for systematic monitoring and evaluation of IRJ impact activities
- Fundraising consultation → creation of a Case for support,
establishing partnerships with three foundations
- Creation and stabilization of the position of economist - absolutely crucial for the professionalization of our organization.
2. Analysis of local conditions and foreign practice, making concrete recommendations
→ Creation of a comparative study "Restorative justice in foreign legislation".
3. Awareness-raising communication campaign for the general public
→ 8 screenings of the Finnish documentary "Eye to Eye" and subsequent debate for a total of 400 people
→ Production of 2 documentaries "After the death of friendship" and "Unheard"
→ Production of a short illustrated video explaining the principles of restorative justice
4. Cooperation with a Norwegian partner
- Our Norwegian partner Karl-Bertil Nordland had a stroke in the spring of 2022 and had a relapse in the summer, both of which affected his health and he is not in good shape. Despite this, he flew to Prague in November for the Restorative Justice Week, when we screened the Norwegian documentary The Painter and the Thief, followed by a debate with the actors of the film → 1 screening for the general and professional public and a subsequent debate for 100 people
5. Educating the professional public
→ 1 conference for the professional public (100 experts from the ranks of police officers, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, probation and mediation service workers, prison service workers, workers from non-profit organizations)
→ 8 seminars for the professional public (each approx. 30 experts from the ranks of police officers, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, probation and mediation service workers, prison service workers, workers from non-profit organizations)
6. Advocacy mini-campaign
→ Thanks to our advocacy work, the document "Introduction of Restorative Justice Principles into the Basic Principles of Criminal Proceedings: wording and context" was submitted to the government for comment.
→ Consensus opinion on the implementation of restorative meetings in three Czech prisons from the Prison Service of the Czech Republic
→ Organization of the Conference Czech Republic Restoratively: Together from Theory to Practice (for 100 experts)
→ Creation of the Handbook for Czech Restorative Practice
Thanks to the project, we managed to achieve that the first tens of experts (police officers, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, probation and mediation workers, Prison Service
staff, people from non-profit organizations) started to apply restorative principles in their practice. Their colleagues will be helped to implement a fundamental document that
we have written - the Handbook for Czech Restorative Practice. The conference Czech Restorative Practice: Together from Theory to Practice consisted of an expert part
(presentation of the Handbook by experts, panel discussion with representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Probation and Mediation Service, etc.), in the second part, the main
actors of the docuvideos sat down for a debate – the meeting with them was for experts very crucial and powerful, both ladies christened the Handbook at the end. We plan to
continue the Restorative Platform meetings at regional level and we are also preparing training packages for each profession.
We have drafted a document "Introduction of Restorative Justice Principles into the Basic Principles of Criminal Procedure: wording and context", which, thanks to our
advocacy work, has passed the Constitutional Law Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate and has entered the comment procedure at the Government, which
we consider a great success (the comment procedure was closed at the end of April 2024 and we are now waiting for the next steps).
We are now following up with further advocacy work, which we will start by organising roundtables on the topic of "Defining restorative programmes in Czech legislation".
Thanks to the filmed docu-videos on restorative stories, we have managed to reach the general public. Unfortunately, our inexperience showed and we failed to get people on
the zocidooci.cz website to sign up to our idea (we wanted to use the pressure from the civil public for advocacy work). Fortunately, we were successful in our advocacy work
even without the support of the general public. This experience leads us to the fact that we need to start thinking more and working systematically on community building and
subsequent work with the community. We submitted both of the documentaries we made to the SozialMarie competition and were shortlisted. The ceremony in Vienna on 1
May was attended by the two main actors of the videos.
Partners'' contribution: AK Rowan legal worked with us on the wording of the restorative principle. Partners from the International Prison Fellowship and Restorative and
Common Law societies were involved in organising screenings of the documentary Eye to Eye across the Czech republic.