Referring a criminal offence to Justice Mediation

When a person is charged with a criminal offence, the matter progresses through the criminal justice system in Court. A defendant may choose to plead guilty and have the matter proceed by way of a sentence, not guilty and have the matter proceed to trial, attempt to negotiate the factual basis of the plea, attempt to case conference the charge, or the charge may be withdrawn.

There is also another process that may be available to a defendant, that diverts the charge from the formal criminal proceedings. This process is called Justice Mediation.

Justice Mediation is a form of dispute resolution and can be useful and effective for charges such as common assault, assault occasioning bodily harm and property offences.