NCJ Number
175438
Journal
Chronicle Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: July 1998 Pages: 1-36
Date Published
1998
Length
36 pages
Annotation
This is a review of the Model Law on Juvenile Justice which was drafted by Alexandre Schmidt and Renate Winter of the Centre for International Crime prevention at the United Nations Office in Vienna.
Abstract
The Model Law is based on responses from 80 countries that supplied the UN Office with their juvenile justice laws. The Model Law is drafted in such a way as to allow global principles to be applied to local situations. This review presents an overview of the Model Law by way of some illustrative examples of its method and structure. The Model Law represents the contemporary state-of-the-art of a criminal policy in the field of its groups and subgroups. The main advantages of this new instrument are twofold. On the one hand, its basic approaches toward juvenile delinquency are firm enough to withstand tendencies in criminal policy that reflect the inclination of adults to consider children and minors as but smaller editions of themselves, an assumption that has impeded justice for the young repeatedly. On the other hand, the Model Law transcends what has been postulated and stipulated so often before, offering itself as a framework for future legislative innovations. Along with the text of the Model Law, a full Commentary is provided on each article. Following a preamble and definitions, general provisions cover juvenile status and criminal responsibility. Other titles address courts of law for the trial of juveniles, applicable measures, and educational assistance for the protection of young people in danger.