Resolução n.º 225, de 31 de maio de 2016: dispõe sobre a Política Nacional de Justiça Restaurativa no âmbito do Poder Judiciário e dá outras providências

What this is about

This resolution of Brazil's National Council of Justice establishes the national restorative justice policy within the Judiciary. The text available is a consolidated version that incorporates the amendments made by Resolutions 300/2019, 458/2022, and 592/2024. It rests on the United Nations resolutions on basic principles and on the need to unify the concept of restorative justice throughout the country. It is addressed to the courts, judges, facilitators, and the institutions that collaborate with the judicial system. It defines concepts and principles, divides responsibilities between the Council and the courts, regulates restorative services in the judicial setting, and sets guidelines for the training, monitoring, and evaluation of programs.

Annotated table of contents

• Considerations. Gather the rationale of the instrument: United Nations Resolutions 1999/26, 2000/14, and 2002/12, access to justice understood as access to effective solutions, and the complexity of conflict and violence. They also mention Laws 9.099/1995 and 12.594/2012, which already allowed agreements and restorative practices in criminal matters and with adolescents.
• Capítulo I. Da Justiça Restaurativa (On restorative justice) (arts. 1-2). Defines restorative justice as a systemic set of principles, methods, and techniques, and specifies what is meant by restorative practice, procedure, case, session, and approach. Lists the guiding principles and sets conditions such as acknowledgment of the essential facts without admission of guilt, free consent with the possibility of withdrawing, and reasonable and proportionate agreements.
• Capítulo II. Das atribuições do Conselho Nacional de Justiça (On the responsibilities of the National Council of Justice) (arts. 3-4). Entrusts the Council with a promotion program with lines of action that are universal, systemic, interinstitutional, interdisciplinary, intersectoral, educational, and supportive. Provides for a network of judicial bodies, public and private entities, and universities, recognition of the work of court staff, and dialogue with the bar, public defenders' offices, and the Public Prosecution Service.
• Capítulo III. Das atribuições dos Tribunais de Justiça (On the responsibilities of the Courts of Justice) (arts. 5-6). Requires the courts to implement programs coordinated by a specific body, with expansion plans, training, and service spaces. Sets guidelines for those spaces: an adequate and safe physical location, a judge in charge, facilitation teams, case supervision, statistical records, and coordination with other public policies.
• Capítulo IV. Do atendimento restaurativo em âmbito judicial (On restorative services in the judicial setting) (arts. 7-12). Regulates the referral of cases at any stage and the possibility of the police authority suggesting it. Describes voluntary sessions, without coercion or judicial summons, the approval of agreements after hearing the Public Prosecution Service, the brief summary added to the case file, and the prohibition on using the failure of the process or the information obtained against those who take part.
• Capítulo V. Do facilitador restaurativo (On the restorative facilitator) (arts. 13-15). Requires that only trained facilitators, or those in training, act, with ongoing professional development. Lists their functions, from preliminary meetings to drafting the agreement, and their prohibitions, such as imposing decisions, testifying at trial, or disclosing without legal grounds what was said in the sessions.
• Capítulo VI. Da formação e capacitação (On education and training) (arts. 16-17). Assigns the training of facilitators to the judicial and judicial-education schools, with a basic pedagogical plan, trainers with proven experience, simulated exercises, a minimum number of hours, and supervised practice. Allows the training of community volunteers.
• Capítulo VII. Do monitoramento e da avaliação (On monitoring and evaluation) (arts. 18-20). Makes the courts responsible for following up on projects, using specific forms, and creating databases. The Council compiles national information and promotes studies for a basic training plan, while the courts adopt evaluation parameters.
• Capítulo VIII. Disposições finais (Final provisions) (arts. 21-28). Provides for local curricular parameters, the certification of extrajudicial spaces run by governmental and non-governmental organizations, and amendments to Resolutions 154/2012 and 128/2011, the latter to incorporate restorative processes in domestic and family violence. Contemplates a recognition seal, the continuation of existing programs, and the creation of the Restorative Justice Steering Committee.
• Capítulo VIII. Disposições finais (Final provisions) (arts. 28-A to 30). The articles added in 2019 require courts to submit an implementation plan within one hundred eighty days, with a central macro-management body, training with minimum standards, and evaluation studies, and they create the National Restorative Justice Forum. They also extend the resolution to other branches of the justice system, promote school-based programs from 2022, and set the entry into force at sixty days after publication.

Key ideas

• Restorative justice is conceived as an ordered set of principles and methods that addresses the relational, institutional, and social factors of conflict.
• The processes require the participation of the offender and, where there is one, the victim, together with their families, the community, and one or more facilitators.
• Voluntariness, confidentiality, and informed consent are conditions of the procedure, which may be an alternative to or concurrent with conventional proceedings.
• Acknowledging the essential facts within the restorative space does not amount to admitting guilt if the conflict returns to the judicial process.
• The policy divides responsibilities: the Council coordinates and promotes at the national level, and the courts implement, train, and evaluate.
• Training of facilitators requires minimum standards, supervised practice, and continuous professional development.
• Information arising in the sessions may not be used as evidence or to aggravate a sanction.
• Coordination with community networks and other public policies is a central part of program design.

Practical uses

• How does a national rule define the concepts of restorative practice, procedure, session, and approach?
• What conditions must be met for a judicial case to be handled through a restorative process?
• What may and may not a facilitator do during and after the sessions?
• What training and supervision requirements should be demanded of facilitation teams?
• How can a judicial restorative justice program and its evaluation be organized institutionally?

Key terms

restorative justice, National Council of Justice, Judiciary, restorative practice, restorative procedure, restorative session, restorative approach, restorative facilitator, voluntariness, confidentiality, approval of agreements, Restorative Justice Steering Committee, education and training, monitoring and evaluation, restorative justice in schools