Mediation in criminal proceedings

Іn the article the author investigates the institute of mediation, which acquires its development not only in civil and commercial proceedings, but also in criminal proceedings and is a manifestation of the concept of restorative justice. As a confirmation of the relevance of the research topic, judicial statistics of consideration of materials of criminal proceedings on the basis of agreements by courts of first instance are given, which confirms the necessity and importance of such a legal institution.The norms of international normative legal acts, where the institute of mediation was embodied, are analyzed. Also are considered the main provisions on the application of agreements in the criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine. It was stated that mediation is possible within the framework of the conciliation agreement.The opinion is expressed that the application of the relevant legal institution in criminal proceedings will facilitate the adoption of a special law «Mediation» and analyzed the lawmaking in this area. The next step could be amending the criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine. Number of issues need to be clarified, including: what will be the status of a mediator in criminal proceedings (his rights and responsibilities, guarantees of independence, etc.); what is the procedural order of mediation; what is the procedural form of completion of the mediation procedure and some others.Particular attention is paid to the definition of a person who can be a mediator and his legal status in criminal proceedings. The positions of scientists who believe that mediators can be prosecutors, lawyers and psychologists are considered. The opinion was expressed regarding the acquisition of special education by such a person and the acquisition of relevant knowledge and skills.It is concluded that the punitive-repressive approach to counteracting the commission of crimes is not effective enough, so it is necessary to introduce mechanisms of alternative conflict resolution procedures, in particular, medi-ation. At the same time, implementation of mediation requires further scientific reflection and discussion, as well as the political will of the legislator to adopt the relevant law and amend the criminal procedure legislation.