In 2023, The Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic established a new organisational unit – The section on restorative justice and probation. One part of this section is the department specialising in mediation and restorative programmes. The department’s primary focus is to advocate for the development and the effective use of restorative justice principles and values by creating analytical, methodical, educational, legislative as well as practical support for the already existing Probation and Mediation service active in Slovakia not only within the criminal justice field but also beyond it.
This evolutionary change has aimed to separate the probation field from the mediation, so the content of one could not be confused with the other. The new perception of the idea of restorative justice and its programmes will be strengthened in the number of specialists working in the application practice (i. e. specialists for the mediation in criminal matters). It is expected to effectively promote the training and education not only of the existing Probation and mediation service staff but also of the criminal justice authorities (judges, prosecutors).
This paradigm shift is also supported by the legislative changes in the Slovak Criminal Code, where restorative programmes, principles and values will be applicable at any stage of the criminal proceedings. This way restorative justice services will be available for both the victim and the offender also during the execution of a prison sentence.
