Juvenile Justice

Restorative practices, especially conferencing, are being used to divert juvenile offenders from court processes.

Introduction to restorative justice in Malaysia

from the article on Voice of the Children: In considering introducing restorative justice within the legal juvenile justice framework in Malaysia, we have to weigh its benefits and effectiveness in comparison to the existing system. The existing juvenile justice system, i.e. the proceedings in the Court For Children, does not provide opportunity for the full participation of the child offender and their family. It is too complicated to comprehend and very formal in nature .

House passes revamped Juvenile Court Law

from the article by Ezra Sihite in the Jakarta Globe: ....Azis Syamsuddin, deputy chairman of House Commission III on legal affairs, said legislators were very thorough and careful in their deliberations on the legislation because the principle of restorative justice that it prioritized over punitive justice was unprecedented in Indonesia’s legal system. In addition to promoting restorative justice, in which the needs of the perpetrator, victim and the victim’s family must be considered in reaching a solution that is aimed at healing rather than punishing, the new law also raises the minimum age at which juvenile offenders may be incarcerated to 14 years old. The previous law set the limit at 12 years old.

Workability

Although we may disagree with a political system, every system may feature attributes and effective practices that actually work in contrast with the practices we [...]

Not adding up: Criminal reconciliation in Chinese juvenile justice

from the article in Dui Hua's Human Rights Journal: Recent amendments to China’s Criminal Procedure Law involve special procedures for handling cases involving juvenile defendants and resolving cases through criminal reconciliation. Although the law does not explicitly link the two, criminal reconciliation has been a key feature in the development of China’s juvenile justice system under the principle of “education first, punishment second.” Dui Hua welcomes criminal reconciliation as a means to restorative justice and reduced juvenile incarceration, but research suggests that the relatively new measure is experiencing some growing pains in China. Jiang Jue (姜珏), a PhD candidate in the School of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has done extensive research on criminal reconciliation in China and has seen how the process works in many juvenile cases. Her research indicates that current implementation of criminal reconciliation falls short of juvenile justice principles by alienating youth and stifling attempts at education.

"Restorative justice" to reintegrate youth-at-risk into society

from Wayne Chan's article in ChannelNewsAsia.com: Minister of State for Home Affairs, Masagos Zulkifli recommended using "restorative justice" to divert delinquent youth away from the court justice system. He said this at the 1st Singapore Restorative Conference which kicked off on Thursday.

Toward Transformative Mediation: Restorative justice practice in South Korea

from the article by Jae Young Lee: Growing interest in Restorative Justice has been emerging in Korea among scholars, law practitioners, and civil society groups since as early as the late 1990s. However, its practice was very limited until a recent experimental project from 2006-2008. During those three years, Korean Institute of Criminal Justice (KICJ) and a civil organization called Conflict Resolution Center under Women Making Peace carried out the first formal Restorative Justice project in Korea called Victim-Offender Dialog, particularly designed for juvenile cases. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Seoul Family Court, and Juvenile Protection Institution referred juvenile cases to Conflict Resolution Center to be dealt with a conference where conflicting parties and trained mediators sat together.

Mercy urged for child charged in Jakarta murder

by Ronna Nirmala & Arientha Primanita in the Jakarta Globe: The National Commission for Child Protection on Wednesday said it was working hard to save a 10-year-old boy, suspected of having stabbed and beaten his adoptive mother to death, from serving up to 15 years in jail. East Jakarta Police investigators have said the child, who is originally from Nias and is an orphaned survivor of the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, may face charges for violating the 2004 law on domestic violence.

Adhikain Para sa Karapatang Pambata and Ateneo Human Rights Center. Research on the situation of children in conflict with the law in selected metro Manila cities.

This research project on the situation of children in conflict with the law in selected cities in Metro Manila was conceptualised in order to assist SC-UK and its partners in defining their advocacy agenda on CICL at the local and national levels and help clarify SC-UK’s programme direction, strategies, areas of coverage and target participants. Through quantitative and qualitative information collected in this project, major gaps and abuses that occur in the administration of justice to CICL were identified and corresponding analysis and recommendations were formulated. The project also gave emphasis on the protection measures given to children in conflict with the law through diversion at the different levels of the criminal justice system. Diversion is an essential component of children’s justice, with the purpose of preventing and minimising the children’s entry into the criminal justice system. The promulgation of the Rule on Juveniles in Conflict with the Law by the Supreme Court in 15 April 2002, which provides for diversion in the court level, requires a review of it relevant provisions. The provisions of the Katarungang Pambarangay (barangay1 or village justice) Law as it applies to CICL are likewise analysed in relation to diversion.

Boonsit, Angkana. Restorative Justice in Thailand: Lessons Learned.

The Thai government began experimenting with restorative practices in 2003 with the implementation of family group conferences for juvenile offenders. In 2004, the probation services began a pilot project using restorative justice in 11 probation offices. Angkana Boonsit from the Thai probation Department shares her experiences and lessons learned in implementing restorative justice in Thai cultural setting. This speech was originally given at the at the ‘Restorative Justice in Emerging Countries’ ancillary session at the 11th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.

Kittayarak, Kittipong. Restorative Justice in Thailand

In Thailand, like in many other Asian countries, restorative justice is not a new approach but a familiar concept well entrenched in the Thai traditions and culture. Many elements of restorative justice still remain in the traditional way of communal justice in some rural areas. With such solid background in the Thai culture and increasing problems resulted from the shortcomings of conventional criminal justice, it is not surprising to see a growing interest of restorative justice in Thailand. In my presentation, I will examine the experience of Thailand in implementing restorative justice to the Thai criminal justice process. Although restorative justice has been reintroduced in Thailand only recently, and an attempt for its implementation is only in the beginning stage, restorative justice has been very well received by the criminal justice communities and the public. There are also many indications that it is likely to be adopted as a viable alternative to the formal criminal justice process in various types of offenses. (excerpt)

Wong, Dennis S. W.. Restorative Justice for Juveniles in Hong Kong: Reflections of a Practitioner

Having studied different types of juvenile justice models and practised various kinds of therapeutic methods, I find restorative justice (RJ) an appropriate answer to my first question. I also believe that RJ is a balanced strategy, and that it can be put into practice through various conferencing and mediation techniques. I will not attempt to provide explanations about why I find RJ so powerful now, but you will get the answer after knowing about our recent works more thoroughly. (excerpt)

Roujanavong, Wanchai. Restorative Justice Programs in Thailand.

The Thai criminal justice system has implemented restorative justice programs since 2003. Presently, about 9,700 conferences were conducted for juvenile cases and 75% of them resulted in non-prosecution order. For adult cases, about 1,500 direct mediation meetings were conducted and 86% of them resulted in agreements made. The presentation will introduce the restorative justice programs implemented in Thailand and discuss about the future plan as well as some critical issues relating to Thai legislation and policy. (author's abstract)

Wing Lo, T and Wong, Dennis and Maxwell, Gabrielle. Community Support and Diversionary Measures for Juvenile Offenders in Hong Kong: Old Legacy, New Age.

This paper begins by examining the arguments that led to the change of emphasis from residential training and detention to community-based measures in Hong Kong. Police cautioning and community support services are introduced. An evaluation of the services provided found that the majority of respondents reported high levels of satisfaction with them. It is likely that the services exerted positive influences on the respondents_ deviant behaviour, family values and sense of social responsibility, but one-fifth of them continued to commit deviant acts. Parents_ participation was not high. Young offenders rarely took responsibility for the offence they committed or understood the harm they had done to victims, and victims were not involved in deciding the intervention plan. The conclusions raise issues about the future for Hong Kong. They consider new diversionary strategies for responding to young people and debate the values that should underpin them.

Tin Keng Seng, Eric. The Four Justice Models: Organised Creativity in Judicial Administration

The Justice Achievement Award was established to recognize outstanding achievements and projects that enhance the administration of justice. In this paper, Eric Tin Keng Seng, a magistrate for the Republic Singapore, profiles four justice models that provide the structure for the Singapore courts: civil justice (fair and effective dispute resolution); criminal justice (protecting the public); family justice (protecting family obligations); and juvenile justice (restorative justice). For each model, he identifies the target groups, the core work team, and significant justice initiatives. Moreover, he evaluates the effects of the justice initiatives on the Singapore community.

Wan King Hung and Chuk Wing Hung. Restorative Justice: A Way Forward in Hong Kong.

This paper presents a microcosmic perspective of the demand for restorative justice in Hong Kong. Offenders and victims, a primary student and university professor, juvenile offenders and lifers, prison volunteers and social workers, as well as imprisoned offenders and a rehabilitated person respectively present thirteen voices. It further elaborates that pilot project such as "The Post-superintendent Cautioning Scheme plus Family Group Conferencing," implemented in Hong Kong, are effective and positive and can untie the inner "knots" of the parties, parents and the community involved. As such, victims are humanized with material, symbolic, and mental compensations as well as offenders can be re-socialized into the society with lower rate of recidivism. This process can enhance relationships among the parents, offenders and their offspring. This can largely improve the public safety in the community and save a great amount of outlays and expenses. In the end, the writers of this report put forward some practical suggestions on the development of restorative justice in Hong Kong which require support from the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission and the Security Bureau. These suggestions could be executed by Hong Kong Magistracy & Juvenile Court, Hong Kong Correctional Services Department, Hong Kong Social Welfare Department, Hong Kong Police Force and non-governmental organizations (such as Hong Kong Mediation Council, Hong Kong Mediation Center, Non-governmental Criminal Mediation Organizations and volunteers). Together, we can collaboratively achieve restorative justice.

Ozawa, Joseph Paul. Transformative Justice: Psychological Services in the Criminal, Family, and Juvenile Justice Centres of the Subordinate Courts of Singapore

In addition to being a centre for the expeditious, fair, and effective administration of justice and the disposition of deterrence, the Subordinate Courts of Singapore have developed as a centre of innovation. Courts are also conceptualised as a crucible of human conflicts, traumas, and relational dysfunctions, thus requiring expertise in dealing with complex human problems. Psychological Services go beyond the conventional notion of providing expert criminal profiling to becoming a driving force behind individual, familial, and societal transformation. Three functions of the Psychological Services are presented-Family conferencing; the Juvenile Offender Behavior (JOB) criteria; and Project HEART. Each function reflects transformation within a forensic-legal framework.

Lee, Francis. Adopting a restorative approach to young offenders in Hong Kong: a public survey.

With declining faith in the retributive and rehabilitative models of the criminal justice system, the restorative justice (RJ) model has become increasingly favored. Most countries that practice RJ do so for juvenile offenders, and most of these are western countries. It is believed that the illegal acts of most juvenile offenders are committed impulsively. Hong Kong, as an international Asian city that is predominantly Chinese, may want to follow the global trend in adopting some types of RJ practice to deal with juvenile offenders. As public sanction/endorsement is one of the crucial criteria for the implementation of RJ, this article presents the findings of a telephone survey in Hong Kong to explore public support for the idea. It was found that the general public is in favor of the idea of RJ even though their knowledge of the local juvenile justice system is typically inadequate. Some preliminary recommendations are offered. (author's abstract)

Desai, Murli. Singapore A comparative study of measures for children in conflict with the law in Goa and Singapore.

This article aims to compare the measures undertaken for children in conflict with the law in terms of strengths and gaps, similarities and differences, and the profile of children who enter the juvenile justice system in a progressive state of India, namely Goa, and Singapore. The measures for children in conflict with the law are examined with reference to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989), ratified by (among others) India and Singapore. (author's abstract). This includes a discussion of Singapore's inclusion of restorative principles in responding to juvenile offending.

Youngquist, Neal. Youth and the Criminal Justice System: Context and Practices Within Asia.

Within the Asian kaleidoscope, the trails leading youth to prison are varied. Out of dire circumstances to maintain basic needs or a debilitating addiction, youth may succumb to committing economic or “survival” crimes. Conversely, well-educated and more affluent youth, seeking stimulation and new highs, take on law breaking with the vigor and gusto of accepting more and more risk . And then some are born, raised, and in the case of North Korea, spend their entire childhood in prison knowing nothing of life “on the outside” as they mature towards adulthood. These are just some of the avenues, broad in some contexts, leading to time in various forms of forced seclusion. Though a nation’s justice framework is paved with good intentions, incarceration has severe and often unseen repercussions for the offender and family. Youth, doubly so, are subject to traumatisation and the loss of moral conscience by spending formative years in institutions that isolate them from meaningful contact with family and positive role models. Children, of imprisoned adult offenders, face the sudden aftermath of life without a parent and public scorn of now becoming a criminal’s child. (excerpt)

Keenapan, Nattha. Restorative justice.

Wit’s case was diverted to the Family and Community Group Conferencing (FCGC), a “child-friendly” government programme that deals with children who have committed minor crimes. In addition to diverting children away from the formal system, it seeks to restore social harmony between the victim and child offender as well as within the community at large. (excerpt)