Justicia restaurativa y mediación en el sistema penal español

Abstract

In a society in which the phenomenon of conflict is a constant in the life of human beings, the study of the methods of resolving legal conflicts acquires maximum interest as it constitutes a necessary element in the achievement of social peace, connecting in turn with the special transcendence that the access to justice right acquires in this sense, not only as an instrument that allows the effective resolution of conflicts, but also making possible the fulfilment and enjoyment of all the other rights that the legal system recognises. In that way, the evolution and adaptation of the different methods of conflict resolution has led to reflection on the model of justice in the 21st century and on the hegemony of the judicial process as the classic instrument for obtaining legal protection and protection, thus considering how to combine this jurisdictional method with other means that are currently understood as complementary instruments with the potential to also satisfy citizens’ demands for justice in an adequate and effective manner. Thus, focusing the present research on mediation as a self-compositive means of conflict resolution, in particular, within the criminal field as one of the main practices of the restorative justice movement, and conceiving this instrument as a means of access to justice and complementary to the criminal process, the general purpose of this doctoral thesis will be to carry out an exhaustive study from a proceduralist perspective on the institution of criminal mediation, specifically analysing in a pioneering and innovative way its place in the field of the criminal liability of legal persons and compliance programmes. In order to do so, mainly following an analytical-descriptive method with a deductive approach framed in the field of Social and Legal Sciences, the research will be structured in three chapters, thus addressing in a systematic, methodical and orderly manner, (i) alternative methods of conflict resolution; (ii) the traditional criminal justice system and the restorative justice movement as a reference of a new model; and, (iii) mediation as a “methodological bulwark” of restorative justice and a complementary instrument to the criminal process, concluding that recourse to the latter truly constitutes a means of access to justice that contributes to the improvement and implementation of this necessary and important right.