On 13 and 14 December the Conference of Ministers of Justice took place in Venice. The meeting was entitled "Crime and criminal justice - The role of restorative justice in Europe" and it was organized by the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers in Venice.

Restorative justice emphasises the principle of redress for damage caused by criminal behaviour.

The event aimed at advancing the debate on restorative justice in criminal matters within the Council of Europe, based on the analysis of data from European and international sources and taking into account best practices in the Member States of the Council of Europe.

Marta Cartabia, Italian Minister for Justice, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and Gianni Buquicchio, former President of the European Commission for Democracy through Law of the Council of Europe (Venice Commission), spoke at the opening session.

Ministers adopted a final declaration asking the Council of Europe to continue to work on this subject capitalizing on Resolution CM/Rec(2018)8.