The influence of legal culture, local history and context on restorative justice adoption and integration : the Czech experience

While criminal justice systems and programmes around the world may use similar terms and processes, they are very often shaped by national identity and perceptions of the historical role of criminal justice agencies" police, prosecutors and judges. This is no more evident than in countries that have undergone some form of constitutional settlement and who, in the new democratic order, are faced with transforming a criminal justice system that was once used as an extension of state power to one that will uphold democratic principles as enshrined in international legal documents. During this process of reform, governments increasingly look to other nations for sources of inspiration for new policy strategies.1 Therefore, while we may see similar trends across societies in terms of the adoption and implementation of programmes or policies, it may be argued that their application is often shaped by historical and cultural characteristics of a particular jurisdiction.