About us

Civil Society Organization (CSO), ReStart, o. z. is a non-governmental organisation established for the purpose of developing, supporting systemic changes, and implementing activities to promote and realize the principles, programs, and ideas of restorative justice, as well as to develop and implement probation and its programs within the field of justice. The purpose of the CSO organization is to support systemic changes in the judicial spheres and civil society and to communicate with both the general and professional public.

In line with this purpose, our association is active in areas such as:

  • the creation, implementation, and evaluation of RJ programs and probation programs,
  • the preparation and evaluation of legislative changes in the field of criminal law,
  • the implementation of training, educational activities, scientific research, publishing, and awareness activities,
  • the implementation of professional interventions for individuals who have come into conflict with law, especially for victims, offenders, their family members, affected communities, and victim support organizations,
  • raising awareness among the general and professional public about restorative justice and probation, for example, through media information campaigns,
  • active support and utilization of volunteer work,
  • collaboration with relevant organizations operating in the field of restorative justice and probation at the local, national, and international levels

Our long-term goal and vision is to ensure that everyone who comes into conflict with the justice system (victims, offenders, affected community) has guaranteed access to professional and high-quality restorative justice services. We aim for strategic changes and influencing the state’s criminal policy, which should primarily address the harmful consequences of a committed crime or other anti-social behavior.

The founder and father of the idea and philosophy of restorative justice, Howard Zehr:

Restorative justice differs from traditional justice in that it does not focus on judging unlawful acts against the state, but rather acts against people. The response to a crime does not necessarily involve inflicting pain on someone, but aims to “heal” and restore what was damaged. In this case, it involves jointly identifying and addressing harm, needs, and responsibilities with the goal of achieving healing and making things right to the greatest extent possible.

Tomas Horehaj

is a graduate of the Faculty of Law at Trnava University in Trnava and a graduate of doctoral studies at the Department of Criminology of the Police Academy.

His main job responsibilities include preparing strategies and methodologies in the field of restorative justice and restorative programs, analyzing legislative documents adopted by the European Commission and the Council of Europe and their subsequent implementation into national law, and, last but not least, presenting the results of applied practice and participating in events organized by the European Forum for Restorative Justice (EFRJ).

He is the author and co-author of several scientific articles, studies, methodologies, and educational programs focused on the field of restorative justice, victimology, and criminal law

He is involved in teaching and raising awareness about restorative justice for the professional and civil society and ensures the education of probation and mediation officers practicing mediation in criminal matters. He is one of the founding members of ReStart, o. z. and also its chairman.

Renata Durkechova

Since 2018, she has been working at the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic, in the Department of Restorative Programs and Alternative Sanctions, as a specialist in criminal law and restorative justice - Senior State Counselor.

She served in diplomatic services for 12 years (Spain, Turkey, USA – New York – UN). Since 2014, she has been registered as a lawyer with the Slovak Bar Association. In her legal practice, she provided legal services in the areas of civil law, commercial law, family law, criminal law, European Union law, and Council of Europe law.

In the same year, she completed her higher education at the third level in the doctoral study program in criminal law at the Pan-European University of Law, focusing on juvenile offenders. She worked as an external legal advisor to the rector of the Academy of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. She worked at the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic in the Human Resources Section, as a second-level appellate body in administrative proceedings and a second-level appellate body in matters of social security for soldiers. She is a co-founder of the association ReStart, o. z.