Constructive juvenile justice: concrete recommendations based on the principles of the Werkgroep Jeugdsanctierecht.

The Flemish Werkgroep Jeugdsanctierecht (Working Group Youth Sanction Law) was established with the objective to organize consultations on the issue of juvenile justice between academics, lawyers, judges, consultants and service providers. In 1994, and updated in 2011, the Working Group presented five principles that should be at the core of juvenile justice legislation: (1) the responsibilities of youngsters, (2) legal safeguards for youngsters, (3) constructive sanctioning, (4) complementarity of rehabilitation, care and justice and (5) detention as a last resort. Although the Werkgroep Jeugdsanctierecht evaluated the current Belgian juvenile justice legislation in the light of its principles in 2011, these five principles are at present insufficiently precise to serve as concrete recommendations for the legislator. The purpose of this research is to formulate a clear and coherent proposal for future constructive juvenile justice legislation, drawing upon the principles and insights of the Working Group. Through intensive consultations with the members of the Working Group and through the integration of insights from existing literature, recommendations will be formulated on several topics: the scope, potential interventions and diversion, the procedure and judicial organization.

Keywords:Youth justice, Sanctions, Legal safeguards, Juvenile justice, Responsibility, Minors

Disciplines:Law