Ewolucja polskich uregulowań dotyczących mediacji w sprawach karnych na tle standardów europejskich

Abstract

Within the European area it is the Council of Europe that leads in terms of lawmaking activity in the field of mediation in criminal cases. It has adopted for the last several years a series of recommendations that refer to restorative justice institutions. The most important of these is Recommendation No. R (99) 19 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States Concerning Mediation in Penal Matters of 15 September 1999, which comprehensively defi ned the rules and guarantees for mediation in criminal cases. The Recommendation lists as key principles of voluntary consent to participate, confi dentiality, universal availability and the autonomy of mediation services within the criminal justice system. The European Union harmonizes legislations on mediation slightly slower. In recent times, Council Framework Decision of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings has been replaced by a more detailed Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012, establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The Directive sets minimum standards on the right to safeguards in the context of restorative justice services. Polish legislation on mediation in criminal cases has evolved from initially being very unsuccessful and laconic into something more and more complex at the level of the act. Two comprehensive amendment acts to the Code of Criminal Procedure enacted in 2003 and 2013, modifi ed and adapted regulations related to mediation to European standards.