Untitled

L. PAPIASHVILI, SOME ISSUES OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
Moreover, article 40 covers the rights of
all children in conflict with the law relates to matters
such as the principle of nullum crimen sine
lege; the minimum procedural safeguards to
be guaranteed at all stages of penal proceedings;
the establishment of laws, procedures,
authorities and institutions specifically applicable
to children alleged as, accused of, or
recognized as having infringed the Penal Law,
including a minimum age for criminal responsibility;
Treatment of children in conflict with
law in a manner consistent with the promotion
of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, which
reinforces the child’s respect for the human
rights and fundamental freedoms of others
and which takes into account the child’s age
and the desirability of promoting the child’s
reintegration and the child’s assuming a constructive
role in society and the availability of
alternatives to institutional care. It requires
States Parties to promote a distinctive system
of juvenile justice with specific positive rather
than punitive aims.
Un Minimum Rules for the Administration
of Juvenile Justice: The Beljinc Rules
(1985) – The Beijing Rules were the first international
legal instrument to lay down comprehensively
rules for the administration of juvenile
justice. They actually predate the UNCRC
and are specifically mentioned in the Preamble
of the latter.
The Beijing Rules, provide guidance to
States for the protection of children’s right and
respect for their needs in the development of
separate and specialised systems of juvenile
justice.
States are urged to use all the resources
available, “including the family, volunteers and
other community groups, as well as schools and
other community institutions” to reach two goals:
(1) to minimize necessity for “intervention
under the law and
(2) to reduce harm that may be caused
by such intervention by “dealing with juveniles
in conflict with the law effectively, fairly and
humanely”.
The Beijing Rules stipulate that detention
should be used only as a last resort (ultimum
refugium) and for the shortest possible period
of time and therefore encourage the use
of alternatives to institutionalisation to the
maximum extent possible. Young people who are
identified as having committed an offence are
best helped by the principle of minimum intervention.
According to the Beijing Rules the age of
criminal responsibility should not be “too low,
bearing in mind the facts of emotional, mental
and intellectual maturity of the juvenile; basic
procedural safeguards should be guaranteed
at all stages of proceedings 3 ; preference
should be given to diversion; pre-trial detention
should be used “only as a measure of last
resort and for the shortest possible period of
time”, detainees should be kept separate from
adults and should receive necessary care,
protection and assistance; prohibition of capital
or corporate punishment; strict limitation
where deprivation of liberty is a possibility;
least possible use of institutionalization. Treatment
of juveniles placed in institutions should
provide care, protection, education and vocational
training; special attention to young
female offenders, right to access for parents
or guardians. Adequate academic and/or vocational
training should be provided to ensure
that “they do not leave the institution at an
educational disadvantage”; possibility of frequent
and early recourse to conditional release
and etc.
UN Guidelines for the Prevention of
Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh Guidelines)
– The Riyadh Guidelines represent a
compre-hensive approach to prevention and
social reintegration. Prevention or rather its
goals shall not be limited to protection of societies
or crime control but shall be informed by
the well being of your person from the early
childhood, which should be the “focus of any
preventive program”. The Guidelines call for
child-centered orientation, progressive delinquency
prevention policies and continuous improvement
and development of measures.
The Riyadh Guidelines also call for the
enactment of specific laws and procedures to
promote and protect rights of juveniles; the
decriminalization of status offences; the establishment
of an office of ombudsman or similar
independent body as well as the training
of the personnel working with juveniles.
Un Rules for Protection of Juveniles
Deprived of Their Liberty: The JDLs –Compared
to the Beijing Rules and Riyadh Guidelines,
the JDLs set out far more detailed rules
to follow focused on ensuring, even in the
detention in closed facilities, full respect for the
169