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Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

177DAA: After Clause 78, insert the following new Clause— ““Enablement of courts to remand cases for restorative justice arrangements (1) Subject to subsection (2) where— (a) at his first hearing, a defendant pleads or has pleaded guilty to an offence, and (b) there is an identifiable victim of that offence, the court may remand the case in order that the victim shall be offered the opportunity to participate in a process of restorative justice involving the offender and any person or persons affected by the offence. (2) A court may not remand the case for the purpose specified in subsection (1) unless it is satisfied that arrangements for a process of restorative justice can be or have been made in the area where the offender will reside. (3) Where a court does not remand the case the purpose specified in subsection (1) at the first hearing it may do so at a subsequent hearing.””