1. Restorative justice programmes, at local and/or national level, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations

1.1. The National Strategy for Community Crime Prevention (Strategy) emphasizes the importance of restorative justice on several occasions. To achieve the goals set up in the Strategy it encourages many initiatives in accordance with the five priorities year by year: prevention and reduction of juvenile crime; improving urban security; prevention of violence within the family; prevention of victimization, assisting and compensating victims; prevention of recidivism. In order to encourage the cooperation between the actors of community crime prevention (child-welfare services, child- and youth-protection services, schools and education services, probation services, penal institutes, organs of policing, municipalities, churches, NGO-s, businesses), the Secreteriat of the National Crime Prevention Board (NCPB) invited tenders for developing both macro- and micro-projects year by year.

The Action Plan (adopted on the basis of the Strategy) of 2008 attaches great importance to propagation of restorative justice and mediation in accordance with crime prevention and social reintegration. Non-violent way of conflict resolving and adoption of restorative attitude is of great importance also in Social Renewal Operational Programme of New Hungary Development Plan.

1.2. A few examples among the awarded projects:

• Sátoraljaújhely: prisoners and those sentenced to community service work established a museum of prison. Many convicted person had the chance to occupy themselves, professional, trained or untrained workers as well. They took part in securing cultural, historical worth and mitigating the damages caused to the community. Students from schools and child-welfare institutes visited the museum as well. In another projects prisoners working together with civilians employed by the municipality renewed a park and the Cemetery of Heroes in the cemetery of the city.

• Balassagyarmat: after prisoners took part on a course on tending parks they renovated the neighborhood of a bus station. Next year they renovated a park in the centre of the city and in an information booklet called attention to protect natural and man-made environment. Prisoners worked together with civilians employed by the municipality. Students from the school neighboring the renovated park took part in preventing damaging.

• Kecskemét: within the framework of community service work convicts renewed a sport center visited by children, adults and socially disadvantaged youth. In this program an important advantage was that a good relationship evolved among convicted and average person.

• Lát-Kép Közhasznú Egyesület: an NGO for making Budapest better looking arranged the employment of people convicted to community service work. They tended parks, gathered rubbish, cleaned front of buildings, cleared graffiti. A psychologist helped stress importance on restorative character of the punishment.

• Office of Justice and Probation Service of Budapest: juvenile offenders gave compensation at NGO-s and child-protection service. Every juvenile was supported by a peer mentor in cooperation with Probation Service and NGOs. The peer mentors mediated between the juvenile offenders and the NGOs admitting them and set an example through the attitude, bearing responsibility, being non-discriminative. The youth were given advice on employment and on special private affair which meant effective assistance in social reintegration.

• Community Mediation Projects: The projects aimed at resolving the conflicts through the application of different restorative justice methods and thus prevent them from becoming offences or crimes in communities having less than 10.000 inhabitants. The project deliverers provided trainings on the application of specific restorative justice methods for different professionals (e.g. social workers, teachers, workers of the municipality, probation officers, police officers, civil guards, professionals working for NGOs) who may be in the situation to recognise conflicts during their work. They provided trainings as well for those potentially concerned by conflicts, who meant the direct target group (in some projects it was the group of students, Roma population, or all of the local inhabitants) in order to make them more open to this kind of conflict resolution. The project deliverers applied the restorative methods in the practice for resolving certain conflicts. Through this the professionals trained as mediators obtained practical experiences, guidance and supervision while applying these methods for the first times. The results of the projects were presented in various forms, such as publications, leaflets or documentary films, and these were disseminated among the local inhabitants as well as among the wide publicity at the national level (through websites) as well.

2. Individual citizens involved directly in restorative justice programmes

2.1. According to the Act XIX of 1998 on Criminal Proceedings public prosecutor has the right to set special rules of conduct according to the recommendation of the probation service. These rules or obligations may encourage using restorative methods.

Before a punishment or measure is imposed, the filing of an indictment is postponed or the case is referred to a mediatory procedure, as the case may be, the court and the prosecutor may order that an opinion from the probation officer be obtained... In the opinion the probation officer provides information on possibilities of work suiting the capabilities of the defendant, or on health or welfare institutions which could provide for the defendant, and may also propose that a special rule of conduct or obligation be ordered in respect of the defendant. (Criminal Procedure Act Section 114/A )
In the decision concerning the postponement of the indictment, the prosecutor shall order the supervision of the suspect by a probation officer, and may also set rules of conduct or other obligations to be adhered to by the suspect. Adherence to the rules of conduct and obligations shall be supervised and assisted by the probation officer in compliance with the legal regulations pertaining to the performance of supervision by probation officers. In order to fulfil these tasks, the probation officer may request the assistance of other bodies and organisations. The prosecutor may oblige the suspect to
a) fully or partially compensate the victim for the damage caused by the criminal offence,
b) ensure the compensation of the victim in another way,
c) make a financial contribution to a specific purpose or perform community service (make amends for the general public),... (Criminal Procedure Act Section 225. )
In the case of a criminal offence punishable by a maximum of five years' imprisonment, if the conditions for an indictment are met, the prosecutor may decide to postpone the filing of an indictment if this is likely to have a positive impact on the future development of the juvenile offender. Prior to the postponement of the indictment, the prosecutor shall order to obtain the opinion of a probation officer. In his decision concerning the postponement of the indictment, the prosecutor may oblige the juvenile offender to keep certain rules of conduct or fulfil other obligations. (Criminal Procedure Act Section 459. )

2.2. Mediation in criminal cases according to the Act CXXIII of 2006 provides also a possibility to use restorative techniques.

Any person who has committed a crime against another person (Chapter XII, Titles I and III), a traffic offense (Chapter XIII) or any crime against property (Chapter XVIII), punishable by imprisonment of up to three years, shall not be liable for prosecution if he has agreed to compensate the injured party for the damages caused by the criminal act, or to provide any other form of restitution by way of a meditation process.
The punishment may be reduced without limitation in connection with the crimes mentioned in Subsection (1), if punishable by imprisonment of up to five years, if the perpetrator has agreed to compensate the injured party for the damages caused by the criminal act, or to provide any other form of restitution by way of a meditation process. (Act IV. of 1978 on Criminal Code Article 36)

2.3. The method of family decision-making conference was introduced by Community Service Foundation of Hungary and Family, Child and Youth Union and is of maori natives origin. In case of problems concerning family members or children, even distant relatives and relevant experts meet and discuss how to resolve the problem.

2.4. Community Service Foundation of Hungary provides day-care provision for youth coping with serious behavior-problems. It adopts the procedure of restorative model worked out in the US by Buxmont Academy and Community Service Foundation, and supported by International Institute of Restorative Practices (USA), Ministry of Education and Ministry of Child and Youth Welfare and Sport of Hungary. The purpose of this movement is to establish a totally new institution inspired by the restorative attitude.

2.5. Zöld Kakas Líceum (a secondary school) adopted the conception of restorative justice in a traditional educational institution. Students and teachers of this school use the face-to-face method day by day.

3. The public at large informed and sensitized on restorative justice

3.1. The tenders invited by NCPB in 2008 obligated awarded applicants to spend at least 5% of the whole costs for communication. The aim of this obligation was to achieve as many people as possible, inform them about the model-projects and familiarize them with the new methods and practices. Besides according to the call for projects it favoured handouts, prospectus, short films correlating to the project.

3.2. The Crime Prevention Unit (CP Unit) of the Ministry of Justice and Law Enforcement of Hungary has just received the applications for its call for proposals in 2009. Unlike the previous years' practice, when it supported direct local crime prevention programmes, this year the CP Unit has published a call for projects aiming at the dissemination of the results and the adaptation of the methods of crime prevention projects carried out in the last few years in the field of developing urban safety and the reduction of fear of crime. Restorative justice had an important role in many of this projects. This change was motivated by the fact that though several crime prevention projects have been delivered since 2004 which proved to be successful and effective, the lack of information and methodological guidance delayed other organisations to use the approach of these projects to address local problems of the same kind.

The dissemination and the adaptation of the results and methods of the previous years' projects is supposed to be realized through

• elaboration of methodologies and protocols,
• organizing trainings and seminars,
• producing films and publications,
• developing and enhancing cooperation between organisations.

3.3. The "European Best Practices of Restorative Justice in the Criminal Procedure" project was approved by the Board of the EUCPN and included it in its work programme in September 2007. The general objective of the project was to professionalise and strengthen the EUCPN and that it should provide expertise and knowledge to develop effective crime prevention policies - to collect and disseminate those practices implemented at any stage of the criminal procedure (pre-trial, trial, implementation of sentences) in the member states of the EU, which could be drawn under the conception of restorative justice. This objective would be achieved using the professional connections of the EUCPN.

After a long preliminary phase an international conference took place on 27-29 April 2009 in Budapest, as the main event of the project. The conference was attended by around 150 people: experts from 15 member states (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden) and Croatia, representatives of 4 more member states (Estonia, France, Latvia, Spain) and around 110 Hungarian professionals participated at the conference. The composition of the audience was of policy makers, law practitioners (judges, prosecutors), law enforcement officers, probation officers, victim support and child protection professionals as well as of researchers, and civil practitioners.

The invited European and Hungarian experts presented and discussed the restorative practices at plenary sessions and workshops. The programme of the conference followed the stages of the criminal procedure and was completed with restorative practices applied in crime prevention.

The results of the project and the conference are disseminated through a publication and available for both the European and the Hungarian professional audience on the internet.