<![CDATA[This study aims to analyze the settlement of criminal cases through a restorative justice approach at the Legal Aid Post (Posbankum) and evaluate its effectiveness in preventing recidivism after mediation is applied. The implementation of Posbankum at the sub-district level is an instrument for expanding access to non-litigation justice for the community. However, the success criteria used so far mostly focus on achieving formal-administrative peace agreements during the mediation process, without measuring the long-term post-mediation impact on offender behavior change. This empirical legal research was conducted in Tanamodindi Village and Petobo Village, Palu City, collecting primary data through interviews and observations, and secondary data from Posbankum service recapitulation and relevant regulations. The results show that Posbankum successfully resolved various minor criminal offenses, such as theft and fraud, through mediation involving sub-district heads and paralegals. Viewed from Soerjono Soekanto's legal effectiveness theory, the implementation of restorative justice proves highly effective in preventing reoffending if the mediation agreement is accompanied by substantive socio-economic recovery solutions, such as job provision or community empowerment. Conversely, post-mediation effectiveness risks weakening if peace agreements merely rely on paper-based apologies without continuous post-mediation monitoring and assistance mechanisms.]]>
