The literature often implicitly presents mediation and restorative justice as synonyms. However, the range of possible responses to crime through restorative justice should be more than attempts to settle constructively the conflicts and disputes between victim and offender. Many authors understand that the community in which the offense took place is also a concerned party and should be considered apart from the victim’s losses. However, introducing the community as a concerned party and community service as a sanction of restorative justice provokes specific problems and questions. These issues relate to the definition and role of community, the position of the government and its legal procedures, and the outcome of the intervention. Further research should examine socio-ethical, philosophical, and legal theory to develop a coherent normative theory to serve as a frame of reference to ensure correct application in practice and to guide experimentation with appropriate methods and techniques. The basic choice is between restorative justice as a form of diversion from existing systems and restorative justice as a path toward a full-fledged systemic alternative. The second option is preferable and requires attention to the problems discussed here. Notes and 49 references