RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MODELS IN THE WORLD FOR YOUTH IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW AND OVERVIEW OF ITS EFFICIENCY STUDIES

This article discusses definition, principles and goals of restorative justice, as well as four restorative justice models aimed for youth in conflict with the law (victim-offender mediation, family conference, community reparative board and sentencing circles). The second part of the paper provides evaluation studies overview of restorative justice models and programmes around the world and its effectivness with a main focus on recidivism rates (selected as one of the appropriate outcomes). The results show positive effects of restorative justice models/programmes on recidivism rates.