RECONCILIATION WITH A JUVENILE SUSPECT: A CRIMINOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON CHILD-FRIENDLY JUSTICE

Abstract

Child-friendly justice is a more humane form of justice aimed at ensuring the best interests of the child in contact with the law, regardless of the status of the child: a child in conflict with the law (juvenile offender) or a child who is a victim of a criminal offence committed against him or her. The categorical position of the state regarding the implementation of modern forms of administration of justice is threatening and does more harm than good, as the punitive function of criminal justice is not the main one in modern democratic states.

Juvenile offenders constitute a separate category of persons in respect of whom restorative measures may be applied, because due to their age, ongoing formation of personal values and perceptions, success from the application of restorative justice instruments to them is more possible and sometimes predictable than in the case of restorative programs for adult offenders.

The current legislation of Ukraine already contains regulatory provisions aimed at ensuring the best interests of the child. Moreover, the possibility of reconciliation between
a juvenile offender and a victim is also provided for in both substantive and procedural law. At the same time, the stateʼs focus on restorative justice and the promotion by state institutions of programs for reconciliation between juvenile offenders and victims of criminal offences require further attention.

Special attention is paid to the risks and challenges that may be faced when implementing such restorative justice procedures as reconciliation with children in conflict with the law. Although a special (non-punitive) approach to bringing juveniles to criminal responsibility may indeed carry certain risks, they can be mitigated so that the practical benefits of using restorative justice outweigh even hypothetical concerns about reforming legislation in
this area.