Operational Roles of Lawyers in the Implementation of Restorative Justice: An Approach for Iranian Criminal Policy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

2 PhD student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Conventional criminal justice faces persistent difficulties, including prison overcrowding, high recidivism, and an inability to repair the harms suffered by victims and communities. Restorative justice has consequently gained importance as an alternative or complementary paradigm centered on offender accountability, victim reparation, and active stakeholder participation. Its effective implementation, however, requires the purposeful engagement of legal professionals, especially lawyers. Using a descriptive-analytical method and library sources, this article identifies four operational roles for lawyers in Iranian restorative processes: restorative facilitation, restorative-oriented representation, management and drafting of restorative agreements, and supervision of implementation. Although the adversarial identity of traditional advocacy can conflict with the cooperative philosophy of restoration, this tension is not insurmountable. Professional reorientation, specialized skills, ethical safeguards, and appropriate legal, judicial, and educational infrastructure can activate the considerable capacity of lawyers to improve existing restorative mechanisms and advance a more humane and effective criminal policy in Iran.

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Main Subjects

References

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Studies of Islamic Jurisprudence and Basis of Law
Volume 20, Issue 53 - Serial Number 53
September 2026
Pages 239-262

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