scholarly journals Protecting the Best Interests of the Child: A Comparative Analysis of the Youth Justice Systems in Ireland, England and Scotland

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Arthur

AbstractIn the Republic of Ireland the government has proposed amending the Irish Constitution in order to improve children's rights. In this article I will argue that the proposed amendment represents a serious diminution in the rights historically afforded to young people who offend, disregards Ireland's commitments under international law and also ignores the well established link between child maltreatment and youth offending. The Irish approach echoes developments in the English youth justice system where the welfare concerns of young people who offend have become marginalised. I will compare the Irish and English approaches with the Scottish youth justice system which looks beyond young people's offending behaviour and provides a multi-disciplinary assessment of the young person's welfare needs. I will conclude that in Ireland, and in England, the best interest principle must be applied fully, without any distinction and integrated in all law relevant to children including laws regulating anti-social and offending behaviour.

2021 ◽  
pp. 237-271
Author(s):  
Steve Case ◽  
Phil Johnson ◽  
David Manlow ◽  
Roger Smith ◽  
Kate Williams

This chapter describes youth offending and youth justice: that is, offending behaviour committed by children and young people and how they are treated in the Youth Justice System. Society’s assumptions about what it means to be a child and what should be expected of children and young people in terms of their development and behaviour shape its views on and responses to youth offending. The chapter then looks at how the concepts of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ have been seen, theorised, and socially constructed over time, before moving on to consider explanations for youth offending and ‘delinquency’. Youth offending has tended to be explained in individualised terms, through developmental and psychological explanations. The chapter also evaluates the main formal responses to youth offending and assesses more progressive, contemporary approaches to youth offending and delivering youth justice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 2055-2081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Myles-Wright ◽  
Claire Nee

This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of youth justice practitioners supervising young people (below 18 years old) displaying sexually harmful behavior within the Youth Justice System (YJS) in the United Kingdom, as little is currently known about the challenges faced when working with this vulnerable group. Five practitioners from two Youth Offending Services (YOS) participated in individual semistructured interviews, which were subjected to thematic analysis while also analyzing the performative function of language used. The analysis identified an overarching theme of “systemic unease,” which contained two subthemes surrounding “unease with the self, and wider YOS personnel” and “unease working with partner agencies.” The findings illuminate critical issues regarding future practice with this underresearched group of young people within the broader context of youth justice, which require further exploration and investigation. The “dual relationship problem” involving tension between risk management and therapeutic alliance is explored in relation to this group. The moral acquaintance model and the model of dynamic adaptation are suggested as helpful approaches to support practitioners and multi-agency professionals going forward in this area.


Author(s):  
Jesse T Young ◽  
Holly Tibble ◽  
Rohan Borschmann ◽  
Stuart A Kinner

IntroductionDrug-related death is substantially higher in formerly incarcerated adults compared to the general population. Despite this, remarkably little is known about the epidemiology of drug-related death among justice-involved adolescents. A richer understanding of drug-related mortality in justice-involved young people is essential for the development of effective, evidence-based interventions for this vulnerable group. Objectives and ApproachIn a whole-population cohort of justice-involved young people in Queensland, Australia, we aimed to: 1) calculate the rate of drug-related death overall, and separately by intent and drug category; and 2) estimate the probability, and identify the predictors of, drug-related death. We probabilistically linked Youth Justice Queensland and National Death Index (NDI) records for every young person who came into contact with the youth justice system in Queensland between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 2014 (N=48,963). The NDI provided death data until 31 December 2017. Crude mortality rates (CMR) were calculatedoverall, separately by intent, and by prescribed versus illicit drug cause. Competing risk survival analysis will be conducted. ResultsOf the 48,963 individuals, 1452 (3%) died by 31 December 2017. Of these, 204 (14%) deaths were due to drugs, yielding a CMR of 31 (95%CI:27-36) per 100,000 person-years. Most drug-related deaths were recorded as intentional (CMR=28; 95%CI:24-33 per 100,000 person-years) and deaths from prescribed medications were more common than illicit drugs (CMR=17; 95%CI:14-20 and CMR=11; 95%CI:9-14 per 100,000 person-years, respectively). Conclusion / ImplicationsRates of drug-related deaths following contact with the youth justice system are disproportionately high and represent a major public health concern. Our findings highlight the importance of initiation of alcohol and other drug (AOD) treatment upon contact with the youth justice system and continuous engagement with community treatment after discharge from the youth justice system. Evidenced-base prevention strategies and efforts to improve the continuity of care are urgently needed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-199
Author(s):  
Rezky Ayu Saraswati ◽  
I Nyoman Sujana ◽  
Diah Gayatri Sudibya

The rise of drug trafficking involving children as narcotics couriers is a problem that needs serious attention from both the government, law enforcement and the community. Children who commit crimes must continue to obtain legal protection in the best interests of the child. Child protection is contained in Law number 11 of 2012 concerning the juvenile justice system, where at the moment children can become narcotics abuse even as narcotics brokers with the rampant abuse of narcotics for all circles both in Indonesia and in the international world. The formulation of the problem raised is how is the basis for judges' consideration in imposing criminal sanctions on children as intermediaries for narcotics? And what is the legal protection of children as an intermediary for narcotics? The problems to be discussed will be examined based on normative perspectives and the legislative approach to the decisions of the Denpasar District Court No. 14 / Pid.Sus Anak / 2015 / PN. Dps, that the judge considers that the accused child has committed narcotics crimes by being charged Law number 35 of 2009 concerning narcotics, which can be sentenced to a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years and can be subject to fines. Legal protection for children is carried out by judges by imposing criminal training on employment in a generation of Indonesian foundations, solely so that children can carry out their activities as usual when they return to the community and do not disturb their psychic rights and can increase their skills in children. The child does not return to committing a crime.


Yustitia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-62
Author(s):  
Ihat Subihat

A country’s judicial system cannot be separated from the legal system in force in the country. In other words, a country’s justice system is a sub-system of the country’s justice system. Because the legal system that applies in Indonesia is a legal system based on the Pancasila and the 1945 constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the judicial system in Indonesia must also be based on Pancasila values and articles in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. This study was conducted by using normative juridical method by reviewing various legal materials; primary, secondary and tertiary legal materials. While the data collection method was carried out through library studies. The analysis technique used descriptive method with prescriptive approach. The result of this study showed that the four judicial environments are under the Indonesia Supreme Court; general justice, religious justice, military justice and state administrative courts, as sub-judicial systems in Indonesia, each of which has an institutional, authority and legal structure separate events that differ from one another according to the specificity and absolute competence of each that cannot be mixed up. In contrast to other judicial environments which have adjusted to the changes in the new judicial power law, the institutional structure and authority of the courts within the military court which is part of the judicial system under the Supreme court of the Republic of Indonesia is still regulated in Law Number 31 of 1997 concerning Military justice and not yet adjusted to Lay Number 14 of 2004 concerning Judicial Power, because the Amendment Draft to the Law on Military Justice which had been discussed since 2005 has not yet been agreed upon by the DPR and the Government. Even when the Lay on Military Justice cannot be adjusted to Law Number 4 of 2004, on October 29, 2009 Law Number 4 of 2004 was revoked and then replaced with Law Number 48 of 2009 concerning the latest Judicial Power.


Author(s):  
E. H. Ngwa Nfobin ◽  
Nchotu Veraline Nchang Minang

Abstract In 2016, the reputation for stability of the Republic of Cameroon, a state made up of Francophones that constitute the majority (three quarters of the population of 25000000) and Anglophones that constitute a minority abruptly came an end when Anglophone secessionists took up arms to fight for the independence of the former Southern Cameroons. It was no surprise to keen observers of the Cameroon political scene in the last decades, If the government of the day is determined to give what it will take to keep the country united, the secessionists are equally convinced of the rectitude of their cause which they base on the principle of self-determination in international law, contesting the legality of the UN-organised plebiscite of!961 that led to the Reunification of the country. This paper assesses the legality of the claims of the protagonists for better information of all the stakeholders in the ongoing conflict..


Author(s):  
Steve Case ◽  
Phil Johnson ◽  
David Manlow ◽  
Roger Smith ◽  
Kate Williams

This chapter deals with youth crime and youth justice: offending behaviour committed by children and young people and their subsequent treatment in the justice system. It considers the argument for a bespoke understanding and response to youth and crime as distinct from offending behaviour committed by adults. The discussion begins by looking at how the concepts of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ have been theorised and socially constructed over time. The chapter then examines how youth crime and ‘delinquency’ have been explained in individualised, developmental, and agentic terms; how young people may grow into crime, with particular emphasis on the role of culture in deviance; and the link between radicalisation and youth crime. It also describes the dominant formal responses to youth crime before concluding with an overview of progressive, contemporary approaches to delivering youth justice/responding to youth crime, namely, diversion and positive youth justice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Staines

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a response to a recent government-commissioned review of residential care (Narey, 2016), and the subsequent government response (Department of Education (DfE), 2016), which minimises the correlation between the experience of being looked after and becoming involved in the youth justice system. The Narey review emphasises on the role of early adversity in looked after children’s offending behaviour but minimises the significance of experiences during and after care, and downplays the effect of policies and practices that may exacerbate looked after children’s involvement in the youth justice system. Design/methodology/approach The paper builds upon a systematic literature review conducted for the Prison Reform Trust (Staines, 2016) to demonstrate the extent of current knowledge about how risk factors, adverse experiences during and after care and the criminalisation of looked after children combine to increase the likelihood of involvement in criminal proceedings. The paper also highlights gaps in the research evidence, particularly in relation to gender and ethnicity. Findings The findings suggest that the Narey review (2016) and the government response (DfE, 2016), are misguided in their attempts to minimise the role of care in looked after children’s disproportionate representation within the youth justice system. The paper cautions against the over-simplification of a complex relationship and emphasises on the importance of recognising the intersection between different factors. Originality/value The paper uses secondary sources to develop an original argument to rebut claims within a recently published review.


2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 1020-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Adjovi

On August 22, 2012, the Republic of Senegal and the African Union (AU) signed an agreement to create a tribunal within the Senegalese judicial system to prosecute the perpetrators of international law violations in Chad between 1982 and 1990. To be called the Extraordinary African Chambers (Chambers), the tribunal is the result of years of political and judicial bargaining around Hissein Habré, the former President of Chad. The Chambers were inaugurated in February 2013, following the agreement upon a Statute of the Chambers in January 2013. On July 2, 2013, Hissein Habré was charged with crimes against humanity, torture, and war crimes, and placed in pre-trial detention. To date, Habré is the only indictee, but the Prosecutor reportedly intends to seek the indictment of five officials of Habré’s administration suspected of having committed international crimes.


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