1. Introduction I have always been interested in issue of victims’ rights and position of victims in criminal procedure. It became popular topic only recently and many scientific studies and researches appeared. This is in contrast with studies of offenders, which have been a field of interest for a very long time. This is the reason why I chose to critically discuss the essay topic of whether is restorative justice victim-oriented. As Johnstone noted ‘when a crime is committed, our principal question should not be: what should be done with the offender? Rather, it should be: what should be done for the victim? Moreover, the starting point, in answering this question, is what the victim actually wants to happen‘. Restorative justice claims to follow victims’ needs and see itself as victim-oriented, but is it true? There …show more content…
Later, in twelfth century, it was replaced by retributive model of justice, because states became stronger and took initiative in punishing offenders and focus on reconciliation between disputing parties fell away. Eventually, in nineteenth century, the victim turn out to be neglected, stopped playing an important role in criminal justice system and further was valued only as a witness. First academic interest in victim role rose in 1940s and scholars started examining the role of victim in their own victimization. First scholar who supported victims’ rights and claimed that their voice should be heard in criminal procedure, was a prison reformer Margery Fry. Later in 1970s further criticisms of traditional criminal justice system appeared, they observed that it fails to inform the victim about proceedings and that victims are basically neglected in criminal justice proceedings. This eventually led to growth of reluctance of victims to participate with the criminal justice