Le Sezioni Unite ritengono impugnabile il diniego di accesso alla giustizia riparativa e accolgono nel sistema il paradigma restorative

This article examines the ruling of the Italian Court of Cassation (Joint Sections No. 5166/2026) on the appealability of orders denying access to restorative justice programmes under Art. 129-bis c.p.p., critically reconstructing the case law divergence that preceded it. The Joint Sections, endorsing deferred appeal under Art. 586 c.p.p. without distinction between offences prosecutable upon complaint and those prosecutable ex officio, affirm restorative justice as a complementary instrument, constitutionally oriented towards the rehabilitative function of punishment. In examining the issues that remain open and signalling persistent interpretive resistance, the article argues that the Sezioni Unite ruling is poised to strengthen practitioners’ trust in RJ and to foster the systemic cultural shift needed for a genuine coexistence of the restorative paradigm and the criminal process.