Following fierce campaigning by victims’ groups, the international community has entered into a debate that aims to move the victim from the margins to the centre of the criminal justice system. For the first time, restorative justice is explicitly regulated at the European Union legal level, as a “Victims’ Directive” aims to establish a baseline for its safe implementation across member states. This ground-breaking and timely edited collection aims to contribute to this international debate.
 
The book aims to challenge current thinking while highlighting good practices that respect and safeguard victims in justice processes. The book uses a combination of theoretical and empirical analysis while utilising original research data collected by the “Restorative Justice in Europe” project (RJE). RJE was coordinated by the Editor, Dr. Theo Gavrielides.
 
Leading experts take bold steps in advancing the debate for a victim-led criminal justice system.
 
The book also aims to give voice to victims directly by involving them as authors of its chapters/ case studies and as research participants. The book also includes sample training material, best practice and guidelines created by the RJE project through the contribution of victims, offenders and experts from across Europe.