Penal Mediation Piloted in Argentina

Abstract

In the 1990s, Argentina began a series of reform efforts to alleviate corruption, overcrowding of jails and prisons, backlogs stalling the court system, and a lack of faith in the justice system. Among those reforms was the Proyecto RAC (Alternative Conflict Resolution Project), a pilot project in penal mediation. The National Ministry of Justice and the University of Buenos Aires Law School joined together to launch the pilot project in the province of Buenos Aires. Referring to the experiences in Canada, the United States, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the Proyecto RAC aimed to explore both the practical and theoretical problems of using alternative measures in criminal matters.