International Criminal Law

International Criminal Law

Feasibility assessment of restorative justice for victims of environmental crimes in the light of social services with an emphasis on comparative law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Bu.C., Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran.
2 Department of Law, Bu.C., Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran
3 Department of Law, Bu.C., Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran.
10.22034/iclj.2026.567853.1237
Abstract
Participating the offender and the victim in a negotiation process, local community cooperation, and repairing damages to create peace are among the goals of restorative justice in criminal justice. Restorative justice is a rapidly growing social movement and a set of practices that aim to change the direction of society's retaliatory (punishment-oriented) response to crime. This article uses a descriptive-analytical method to examine how restorative justice (restorative capacities) can help solve the problem of environmental crimes and damages in the domestic and comparative law arena by implementing social and public services. In this regard, it uses participatory and inclusive processes in which people who share in this situation (victims, offenders, members of the community; representatives of the criminal justice system) come together to jointly resolve how to deal with the consequences of the crime and its implications for the future. In addition to the goal of repairing the damage done, restorative justice has a future aspiration: to prevent recidivism by confronting the offender with his victim, which can lead to repentance and behavior change. The findings of the research in the field of comparative law restorative justice for victims of environmental crimes also indicate that, given the many advantages of using alternatives to imprisonment and community service in the field of the environment, specific laws should be passed in the field of environmental crimes and punishments, in which the mechanism for using this capacity is foreseen.
Keywords


Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 31 May 2026

  • Receive Date 21 December 2025
  • Accept Date 31 May 2026