Restorative justice as a legal category and institution of law: conceptual aspects of essence and content

The article considers the phenomenon of restorative justice. Its essence, content and significance as a legal category, categories of law are determined. The necessity of accelerating the pace of development of social relations that require legal influence, the search by the State within the framework of its realization of the human rights and legal renewal function of new forms and methods of realization of state power and the fulfillment by the State of its duties through interaction with civil society. It is about strengthening the mutual responsibility of all subjects of social relations and the possibility of the state delegating certain powers to such institutions, in particular, the possibility of resolving the conflict in the field of law in an extrajudicial way - through various forms of restorative justice. Appearing within the framework of criminal legal relations, as a form of extrajudicial resolution of the dispute and resolution of the conflict, the category of "restorative justice" has now become universal, since it can be applied within different types of procedural legal relations: civil, criminal, labor, administrative, family, marriage, economic. Consideration of restorative justice as a reflection on the legal conflict as a legal compromise and legal consensus is proposed; legal means and form of human rights protection and restoration of its violated rights; a variety of social practices and forms of interaction between the state and civil society. In the aspect of increasing the efficiency of the legal regulation of public relations, the importance of conceptualizing the doctrine of restorative justice as a certain social practice is emphasized, which performs important from the point of view of ensuring and maintaining law and order, protecting the interests of society and the state, tasks and functions, and is gradually institutionalized in the form of an intersectoral institution of law. Key words: restorative justice, category of law, legal category, institution of law, legal conflict, legal compromise, legal consensus.