Is it part of my job? Prosecution and restorative justice in Chile

Abstract

Unlike most Latin American countries, the implementation of restorative justice in Chile has not been regulated by law. In Chile, restorative justice is implemented on a limited basis through pilot programs limited to specific jurisdictions. Most of these pilot programs establish prosecutors as gatekeepers when referring criminal cases to restorative justice programs. Regardless of this crucial role, there is a lack of studies addressing prosecutors’ definitions toward restorative justice and the obstacles they face when referring criminal cases to restorative programs. This study fills this gap by interviewing high-ranking prosecutors from Chile (N = 25), exploring their definitions and obstacles in applying restorative programs within the adversarial system. Our findings reveal the existence of contrasting restorative justice definitions, including victim-centered perspectives and conceptualizations focused on the rehabilitation and punishment of the accused. Also, our findings suggest that legal rules and policies play a key role in the prosecutors’ application of restorative justice programs. The obstacles to apply restorative justice programs include two main themes: (1) prosecutors’ conflicting roles and duties toward victims and (2) values incompatible with restorative justice promoted by public defenders. We conclude by highlighting policy and training implications to expand the use of restorative justice programs in adversarial settings.