Giustizia riparativa, diritti costituzionali e welfare di comunità: verso un nuovo paradigma ispirato dal diritto minorile?

This essay explores the “restorative paradigm”, which has undergone several implementation attempts within the Italian legal system and has been more recently formalized by Legislative Decree n. 150 of 2022, which for the first time provides a comprehensive framework for restorative justice programmes. The analysis begins by critically engaging with the predominant approach to this subject, which tends to assess – so to speak, “negatively” – the extent to which restorative justice mechanisms are compatible with constitutional principles governing criminal law. Instead, the essay proposes an alternative theoretical approach, centered on identifying the constitutional framework of mediation and emphasizing the foundational role of the principle of subsidiarity. Once the constitutional framework of restorative justice is outlined, the contribution focuses on juvenile justice, the only area in which restorative justice practices have thus far been tested with a degree of success, also in light of relevant international and supranational legal standards.