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Restorative justice
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26. (1) In respect of any offence or alleged offence, a body or other person shall administer a restorative justice scheme (in this section referred to as a “scheme”) only if the requirements of this section are complied with.
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(2) The offender or alleged offender shall—
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(a) acknowledge the basic facts of the offence committed or offence alleged to have been committed, as the case may be, against the victim, and
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(b) give his or her free and informed consent to participating in the scheme.
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(3) The victim shall—
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(a) receive full and unbiased information about—
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(i) the scheme and the potential outcomes of participating in the scheme,
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(ii) the procedures for supervising and implementing any agreement that may be reached between the parties in the context of the scheme, and
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(iii) his or her right to withdraw at any time his or her consent to participating in the scheme,
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and
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(b) having received such information, give his or her free and informed consent to participating in the scheme.
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(4) Where a scheme is administered—
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(a) any agreement between the parties reached in the context of the scheme shall only be so reached on the basis of the free and informed consent of each of the parties,
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(b) an agreement reached in the manner referred to in paragraph (a) may, with the consent of both parties, be taken into account by a court in any criminal proceedings relating to the offence or alleged offence which is the subject of the parties’ participation in the scheme, and
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(c) any discussions between the parties which form part of their participation in the scheme and which are not conducted in public shall not be disclosed, save with the agreement of the parties or as required by law.
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(5) The body or person which or who administers a scheme shall—
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(a) prior to the commencement of the parties’ participation in the scheme inform them of each of the matters referred to in subsection (4),
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(b) be satisfied that the victim’s participation in the scheme is in the interests of the victim, and
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(c) in administering the scheme, have regard to the need to safeguard the victim from secondary and repeat victimisation, intimidation or retaliation.
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(6) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of Parts 4 and 8 of the Act of 2001.
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