Essay on the International Concerns for Juvenile Justice !
The immensity of the problem of juvenile delinquency has been engaging the attention of penologists at international level also. The international Penal And Penitentiary Commission worked successfully on the prevention of crime and treatment of offenders until October, 1951 and repeatedly stressed on the necessity of rationale and humane treatment methods which could avoid the need of keeping juvenile offenders in prison in order to disassociate them from the criminal world.
The preparatory meeting of experts in social defence (African Region) for the Fourth United Nations Congress (Kyoto in Japan held during 17-26 Aug. 1970) on prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders was held in Addis Ababa on 5-7 November, 1971. The consensus in that meeting was that family tensions make the problem of juvenile delinquency more extensive because of neglect and misbehaviour of parents.
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The pressing problems of juvenile delinquency in developed and developing countries drew attention of the United Nations to work out some guiding principles for Juvenile Justice System. The United Nations Asia and Far East Institution made significant contribution in this behalf as a result of which the Seventh U.N. Congress on Prevention of Crime & Treatment of Offenders adopted, in September 1985, the Standard Minimum Rules for Administration of Juvenile Justice. These rules were subsequently adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in November 1985 and embodied the following basic principles:
(1) Juveniles in trouble with law should be provided with carefully constructed legal protection.
(2) Pre-trial detention should be used only as a last resort. Child and juvenile offenders should not be held in a jail where they are vulnerable to the evil influences of the adult offenders.
(3) Juvenile offenders should not be incarcerated unless there is no other appropriate response that will protect the public safety and provide the juvenile with the opportunity to exercise self-control.
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(4) Member nations should strive individually and collectively to provide adequate means by which every young person can look forward to a life that is meaningful and valuable.
India, being a U.N. member has responded favourably to this call of the international body and enacted a comprehensive law on the subject called the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986.