SORTED - Forschung zum Opfer-Täter-Dialog

SORTED - Forschung zum Opfer-Täter-Dialog

Since 1988, Austrian criminal law has provided for mediation in penal matters (MPM) for juveniles and since 2000 also for adults. By now, this diversion model is considered well established in practice and successful. In other stages of the criminal proceedings or after a verdict, there have been no equivalent possibilities for mediation or restorative justice (RJ) to date. RJ is widely understood as emotional conflict resolution following a criminal offence and involves the concept of reparation. The main objectives include conflict resolution between the accused and the victim, reparation for the damage caused and a resulting peaceful coexistence.

In order to expand the range of RJ measures available in Austria and to comply with international guidelines that recommend RJ at all stages of criminal proceedings, the NEUSTART association has been conducting a pilot Victim-Offender Dialogue (OTD) as of February 2025. As part of this pilot project, MPM and restorative justice efforts are being trialed outside of the diversion process. A striking difference to diversionary MPM is that the new model neither replaces criminal proceedings nor must it necessarily be taken into account in criminal proceedings or a judgement, though the latter is possible.

The new model creates a new need for information and thus also for research. The present research project aims to produce scientifically sound, empirical knowledge about the RJ model OTD. The study pursues objectives that are closely linked to the pilot project. It will generate findings on the suitability and acceptance of OTD in practice, assess the model's potential for mainstream application, identify success factors and obstacles, as well as examine process implementation and results in different case constellations in order to contribute to the further development and quality assurance of the model.

The research objectives will be pursued using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, including anonymized documentation data from NEUSTART, data from the justice system, qualitative case studies comprising interviews with involved parties, expert discussions, a client survey, and the exploration of international experiences.

The project is funded by the Austrian Security Research Programme KIRAS of the Federal Ministry of Finance.