Samenvatting

On a yearly basis between 4.000 and 4.500 underage suspects in Flanders accept the offer of Restorative Justice. A many cited definition of Restorative Justice has been developed by Lode Walgrave: ‘Restorative Justice is every action that is primarily oriented toward doing justice by repairing the harm that has been caused by the crime’.
Commissioned by the Flemish Minister of Welfare, Public Health and Family an evaluation of Restorative Justice for minors was conducted by Bureau Beke. In the article the authors reflect on Restorative Justice in Flanders and describe the most important findings of their research. The process of Restorative Justice, the satisfaction of the parties involved and its results are considered. The authors offer organizations several suggestions related to developing established procedures and practices. Furthermore results show that suspects and victims are satisfied with Restorative Justice, which yields several benefits for the parties involved: Reparation for victims and learning effects and reduced contacts with counseling agencies for suspects. An important overall conclusion is that face-to-face contact between victim and suspects is beneficial for the mediation process and subsequently repairing the harm.