Abstract: The subject of the study is restorative justice as an alternative form of resolving legal, mainly criminal law conflicts. The purpose of the study is to identify the fundamental problems of restorative justice, both internal (goals, content, categorical apparatus) and external (limits of distribution in the system of branches of Russian law, correlation with legal sectoral principles).
When writing the article, general, general scientific, private scientific and special research methods were used.
Based on the analysis of a significant volume of literary sources and a certain mass of criminal and civil cases that ended in reconciliation of the parties and relevant procedural decisions, the author argues that the current state of the restorative justice paradigm is characterized by the absence of its monotonous interpretation and ideas about the sectoral boundaries of legal norms on which the alternative resolution of legal conflicts is based. And the very idea of restorative justice is subject to an ambiguous assessment by researchers.
Conclusions are drawn about the inconsistency of the interdisciplinary institute of restorative justice with the requirements of the system of Russian law, the need to comprehend the idea of restorative justice both in the context of the Russian legal family and in the limits of specific branches of law.
It is argued that the time of euphoria from the expected prospects of restorative justice should be replaced by thoughtful, balanced implementation of its positive potential in the legislative and practical planes.
Relevant proposals of a doctrinal and legislative nature are being made, aimed at deeper implementation of the institute of restorative justice in the normative sphere in order to optimize it.