The objective of the present study is to look at the philosophy of punishment in a new way, namely, through the prism of the restorative justice metaphors. Cognitive or conceptual metaphors – by employing categorization and referring abstract concepts and notions to concrete experience – allows for the various theories of justice to be viewed as modes of reasoning rather than as sets of legal propositions. The most universal metaphors of justice are: “justice as equality”, and the counterparts of George Lakoff ’s morality metaphors of “strict father” and “nurturant parent”, which partially correspond to, respectively, retributive and restorative justice concepts. Finally, the very process of mediation consists in the mediator consciously deploying so-called transformative metaphors that affect the reasoning of mediating parties, thereby influencing their vision of the conflict.

Victim-offender mediation in juvenile cases is rarely applied in Poland, in spite of the positive results it brings. Therefore, the prospects of it and barriers to it need to be analysed. Space for mediation can be determined by taking into account its legal framework, the existing policy towards juvenile offending, the acceptance of mediation by magistrates and by society as a whole, and the involvement of NGOs in the process. The article in particular analyses new regulations of mediation in the law on rehabilitation and support for juveniles, that – in contrary to what is contained in the substantiation of the law – seem not to encourage wider use of mediation.

Liliana Indan-Pykno aim in this paper is to present the issues concerning application of the institution of mediation in juvenile delinquency proceedings, and to examine the reasonability of actions taken by the legislator in this regard as well as accompanying doubts. Since the inclusion of the mediation institution in the Act on Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings, this regulation has had many supporters and opponents. Thus, the following question arose, Does mediation in juvenile delinquency proceedings really make sense? The literature emphasizes the positive impact of mediation upon shaping the behaviour of juveniles by making them aware of the harmfulness of their actions and the need to redress the damage through contact with the victim. On the other hand, critics emphasize a certain artificial character of mediation in such cases. Mediation may not correct educational mistakes made over many years; however, the fact that it raises doubts should not lead to a complete elimination of the institution of mediation in juvenile delinquency cases. Mediation should continue to apply to juvenile offenders who do not show a high level of demoralization or those whose cases are heard for the first time by family courts.

Paweł Czarnecki’s aim in this article is to present the legal measure of mediation conducted in disciplinary proceedings against academic teachers (academic mediation), introduced on October 1st 2018, after the entry into force of the Act of July 20th 2018, Law on Higher Education and Science. Czarnecki discusses the following aspects of this measure: the definition of academic mediation, the procedure of referring a case to mediation, general principles of mediation proceedings, stages of this procedure, and postulates aimed at increasing the efficiency of proceedings in such cases. Based on his analysis of statistical data obtained from Polish universities, Czarnecki puts forward a thesis that, unless the provisions on academic mediation are changed, mediation will not be an effective instrument to help resolve conflicts at a university between the accused academic teacher and the victim.