Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Esta publicación cientíca en formato digital es continuidad de la revista impresa
ISSN-Versión Impresa 0798-1406 / ISSN-Versión on line 2542-3185Depósito legal pp
197402ZU34
ppi 201502ZU4645
Vol.40 N° 73
Julio
Diciembre
2022
Recibido el 28/02/2022 Aceptado el 11/05/2022
ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal pp 198502ZU132
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas
La re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas, es una pu bli ca ción aus pi cia da por el Ins ti tu to
de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co “Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che” (IEPDP) de la Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas de la Uni ver si dad del Zu lia.
En tre sus ob je ti vos fi gu ran: con tri buir con el pro gre so cien tí fi co de las Cien cias
Hu ma nas y So cia les, a tra vés de la di vul ga ción de los re sul ta dos lo gra dos por sus in ves-
ti ga do res; es ti mu lar la in ves ti ga ción en es tas áreas del sa ber; y pro pi ciar la pre sen ta-
ción, dis cu sión y con fron ta ción de las ideas y avan ces cien tí fi cos con com pro mi so so cial.
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas apa re ce dos ve ces al año y pu bli ca tra ba jos ori gi na les con
avan ces o re sul ta dos de in ves ti ga ción en las áreas de Cien cia Po lí ti ca y De re cho Pú bli-
co, los cua les son so me ti dos a la con si de ra ción de ár bi tros ca li fi ca dos.
ESTA PU BLI CA CIÓN APA RE CE RE SE ÑA DA, EN TRE OTROS ÍN DI CES, EN
:
Re vicyhLUZ, In ter na tio nal Po li ti cal Scien ce Abs tracts, Re vis ta In ter ame ri ca na de
Bi blio gra fía, en el Cen tro La ti no ame ri ca no para el De sa rrol lo (CLAD), en Bi blio-
gra fía So cio Eco nó mi ca de Ve ne zue la de RE DIN SE, In ter na tio nal Bi blio graphy of
Po li ti cal Scien ce, Re vencyt, His pa nic Ame ri can Pe rio di cals In dex/HAPI), Ul ri ch’s
Pe rio di cals Di rec tory, EBS CO. Se en cuen tra acre di ta da al Re gis tro de Pu bli ca cio-
nes Cien tí fi cas y Tec no ló gi cas Ve ne zo la nas del FO NA CIT, La tin dex.
Di rec to ra
L
OIRALITH
M. C
HIRINOS
P
ORTILLO
Co mi té Edi tor
Eduviges Morales Villalobos
Fabiola Tavares Duarte
Ma ría Eu ge nia Soto Hernández
Nila Leal González
Carmen Pérez Baralt
Co mi té Ase sor
Pedro Bracho Grand
J. M. Del ga do Ocan do
José Ce rra da
Ri car do Com bel las
An gel Lom bar di
Die ter Nohlen
Al fre do Ra mos Ji mé nez
Go ran Ther born
Frie drich Welsch
Asis ten tes Ad mi nis tra ti vos
Joan López Urdaneta y Nil da Ma rín
Re vis ta Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas. Av. Gua ji ra. Uni ver si dad del Zu lia. Nú cleo Hu ma nís ti co. Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas. Ins ti tu to de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co
“Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che”. Ma ra cai bo, Ve ne zue la. E- mail: cues tio nes po li ti cas@gmail.
com ~ loi chi ri nos por til lo@gmail.com. Te le fax: 58- 0261- 4127018.
Vol. 40, Nº 73 (2022), 345-363
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
International approaches
to legal regulation of juvenile justice
and juvenile prevention
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.4073.18
Igor Pastukh *
Viktoriya Bass **
Oleksii Bukhtiiarov ***
Olena Maksymenko ****
Abstract
The article is dedicated to investigation of dierent approaches
in the eld of juvenile prevention and juvenile justice. The article
examines the features of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
in dierent countries, in particular, in the United States, Britain,
France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ukraine. The existing
models of organizing the activities of the juvenile police, other
specialized bodies and institutions for children operating in foreign
countries are considered. The issues of organization and implementation
of crime prevention among children in dierent countries of the world
have been studied. Special attention is paid to the US experience in the
eld of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention. In particular, the system
of specialized bodies and institutions for children in the United States
was studied. International systemic acts on the settlement of juvenile
liability are analyzed. The analysis of world models of juvenile justice, in
particular, Anglo-Saxon, continental, Scandinavian, is carried out and their
peculiarities are singled out. The positive features of each of these models,
which can be borrowed, in particular, by Ukraine, have been identied.
Keywords: children’s rights; juvenile delinquency; juvenile justice;
juvenile prevention; juvenile responsibility.
* Head of the Department of Public management and Administration of the National Academy of Internal
Aairs, Doctor of Law, Associate Professor, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
5889-7055
** Associate Professor of the Department of Police Law, National Academy of Internal Aairs, PhD in
Law, Associate Professor, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4915-2991
*** Associate Professor of the special disciplines and professional training University of the State Fiscal
Service of Ukraine, Doctor of Law, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6372-
0756
**** Senior Researcher of the Scientic Laboratory for Combating Crime of the Educational and Scientic
Institute № 1 of the National Academy of Internal Aairs, PhD in Law, Senior Researcher, Kyiv,
Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6121-1061
346
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
Aproximaciones internacionales a la regulación legal
de la justicia juvenil y la prevención juvenil
Resumen
El artículo está dedicado a la investigación de diferentes enfoques en el
campo de la prevención juvenil y la justicia juvenil. El artículo examina las
características de la justicia juvenil y la prevención juvenil en diferentes
países, en particular, en los Estados Unidos, Gran Bretaña, Francia,
los Países Bajos, Alemania, Italia y Ucrania. Se consideran los modelos
existentes de organización de las actividades de la policía juvenil, otros
cuerpos especializados e instituciones para niños que operan en varios
países. Se han estudiado los temas de organización e implementación de
la prevención del delito entre los niños en diferentes países del mundo. Se
presta especial atención a la experiencia estadounidense en el campo de la
justicia juvenil y la prevención juvenil. En particular, se estudió el sistema
de organismos e instituciones especializadas para niños en los Estados
Unidos. Se analizan los actos sistémicos internacionales sobre la liquidación
de la responsabilidad juvenil. Se realiza el análisis de modelos mundiales
de justicia juvenil, en particular, anglosajón, continental, escandinavo, y se
señalan sus peculiaridades. Se han identicado las características positivas
de cada uno de estos modelos, que pueden ser tomados prestados, en
particular, por Ucrania.
Palabras clave: derechos del niño; delincuencia juvenil; justicia juvenil;
prevención juvenil; responsabilidad juvenil.
Introduction
Today Ukraine faces the task of implementing the international
obligations undertaken in terms of providing children with special care
and assistance from the state, the implementation of the provisions of
the Constitution of Ukraine on recognition of a person, his or her life and
health, honor and dignity as the highest social value, ensuring the right of
everyone to the free development of one’s personality. Also, given the level
of juvenile delinquency, there is a need to develop eective measures to
protect the rights of children in conict with the law.
Ukrainian National Police units are responsible for taking preventive
measures with re-education and further social support of a child in conict
with the law. At the same time, the implementation of these areas should
strengthen the responsibility of the family, society and the state for the
upbringing and development of children, ensuring the rights and freedoms
of children in conict with the law by increasing their legal and social
protection, reducing juvenile delinquency.
347
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
Today’s socio-economic conditions, family upbringing, the negative
impact of the environment is closely linked to the causes of illegal
behavior of minors, which has its own specics and is associated with the
peculiarities of their age, physical and mental development, incomplete
moral development, legal immaturity, etc.
Therefore, today an important role is played by government agencies
and social institutions that deal with youth issues and which are responsible
for providing opportunities for full and comprehensive development of
minors, raising cultural, educational and professional level, their right to
social status in society, whose activities are regulated by both international
legal acts and legal norms of the state.
The level of juvenile delinquency in Ukraine has increased signicantly
recently, in particular, there is a type of latent, which is much more dangerous.
According to ocial statistics, the nature of juvenile delinquency often
changes, recurrences, criminal oenses related to weapons, etc. are more
common. More and more minors are being criminalized, also in connection
with changes in the environment, i.e., due to the circumstances that lead
to this. Juvenile criminal behavior very often depends on life, educational
process, culture, consciousness.
This highlights the need to study the problems in the eld of juvenile
prevention and juvenile justice in order to reduce juvenile delinquency and
the formation of a conscious and progressive society.
1. World approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and
juvenile prevention
According to resent investigations, the following periodization of the
history of juvenile justice can be proposed:
1. the rst half of the XX century - the formation of the foundations
of the classical model of juvenile justice, which modern Western
researchers dene as “humanitarian paternalism”;
2. 60-70s of the XX century - the crisis of the classical model of juvenile
justice, the rise of legal realism and the strengthening of the punitive
function of minors;
3. 70-90s of the XX century - managerialization of juvenile justice
under the inuence of liberalization of the criminal justice system
and management of social problems in general;
4. from the 90s of the XX century to the present - the development of
new forms of juvenile justice, namely: decriminalization, restorative
justice, family-focused approaches (Abeltsev et al., 2000).
348
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
The main tenet of juvenile justice in England and Wales is the prevention
of delinquent behavior, which means addressing issues related to lack of
education, the problems of disadvantaged families and others. According
to British experts, early intervention in this area can save the country up to
80 million pounds a year (Akimova, 2015). Thus, the state has developed a
number of prevention programs. Among them are the program of inclusion,
or inclusion in society of school-age youth (from primary to secondary
school), which operates in 110 districts with the highest crime rates. This
program combines training, identication of the child’s professional
orientation and the implementation of primary training in the profession.
Modern UK law is structured in such a way that in the case of an oense
committed by a person under the age of 18 who admits his guilt and repents
of his actions, his case is not brought to court. Such persons are dealt
with by the police, municipalities, other non-governmental organizations
that use regulations, the system of agreements, etc. in their work with
adolescents. In the case of a serious crime or if it is repeated, the case goes
to the juvenile court, which is a special branch of the magistrates’ court
(hearings are closed, the prosecutor and lawyer speak), and which decides
on imprisonment or other restrictions on transfer right, supervision, nes,
classes in special centers, etc. (Alauhanov, 2008).
With regard to the French juvenile justice system, the system is currently
based primarily on the Juvenile Delinquency Act of 2 February 1945 №
45-174, and includes all stages of justice from investigation to enforcement
and supervision of juvenile delinquency, adopted in respect of a minor
(Alekseev, 1998).
In France, work with dicult adolescents is more focused on crime
prevention. However, a law came into force in 2002 that punishes or
punishes juvenile oenders between the ages of 10 and 13, including
damages and / or assistance to victims, a ban on contact with individuals or
visits to certain places.
The average term of imprisonment for juveniles in France is 1 month.
Increasing the use of alternative measures to detention, as well as the
“semi-free” detention of prisoners, including through electronic bracelets,
would, according to some French experts and politicians, strengthen the
family’s educational role in the case of convicts (Meditsky, 2008).
In the Netherlands, since the introduction of the Criminal Law on the
Punishment of Children in the early twentieth century, judges have been
advised to apply various types of punishment to minors (under the age
of 18), including those not related to imprisonment. The juvenile justice
system of the Netherlands is represented by a prosecutor, a judge who has
the authority to conduct cases, make decisions both in case of violation of
children’s rights and in case of juvenile delinquency.
349
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
In general, the Netherlands is characterized by a multi-level system
of juvenile justice. At the rst stage, the police work with teenagers. If
the crime is committed for the rst time, but it is not particularly serious
(petty theft, soft drugs), the police send the teenager to special municipal
services, whose task is to create an alternative to placing the child in closed
correctional facilities (Steketee et al., 2021).
German juvenile justice is based on the humane treatment of children,
the priority of educational measures, the use of imprisonment only in
exceptional cases. The new Juvenile Justice Act of 1990 established a long-
standing practice of using alternative forms of punishment (negotiations
between the victim and the oender, compensation for damages, a
combination of dierent corrective procedures).
Preventive and rehabilitation programs are reduced to psychosocial
support of adolescents, the provision of mediation services in the
framework of restorative justice, control of social workers of special public
services, educational activities in educational institutions, special trainings
and seminars, socially useful activities in which the oender is involved.
The judge may also impose a ne, short-term detention, and certain types
of community service. Moreover, according to experts, alternative types
of punishment are considered not as mitigation of punishment, but to
optimize the criminal justice system (Antonyan and Guldan, 1991).
Juvenile justice in Italy was not focused on the humanization of
juvenile justice as it was in Germany or the Netherlands. Researchers note
the predominance of the punitive paradigm and criminal punishment of
juvenile oenders, which can be traced in 1934-1956. Later, until the early
80’s of XX century, it was preferable to use administrative measures to
inuence the social rehabilitation of children (Antonyan et al., 1996).
In Italy, pre-trial probation means the suspension of a certain period
of time (usually 8 months) during which the oender is obliged to attend
rehabilitation and educational programs, including church-organized
events, which is in fact equivalent to some probation. Here signicant work
is being done by local social services departments, which interact with
juvenile services attached to the courts (Ayala et al., 2021).
Let us consider in more detail the existing models of organizing the
activities of the juvenile police, other specialized bodies and institutions
for children operating in foreign countries. The United States of America
is a country in which the system of specialized bodies and institutions
for children began to form in the late nineteenth century. In particular,
the Illinois Act of 1899 on the Children of the Abandoned, Homeless,
and Criminal dened the responsibilities of the police in this area, and
introduced a juvenile court and a probation system (Rivman et al., 1999).
350
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
Today, the legal framework for policing in the United States is: USA
Constitution, Federal Criminal Code, state constitutions, judicial precedents
in cases related to police actions in specic aspects (Kokkalera et al., 2021).
The key regulations governing the police, other specialized agencies
and institutions for children in the United States are: Juvenile Justice Act
(1974), Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act (2004).
The system of specialized bodies and institutions for children in
the United States today includes: police (over 75% of the 13,000 police
departments have special services in their structure that deal with children’s
aairs or implement special programs in this area); temporary detention
facilities (there are currently 3,300 such facilities); juvenile prosecutors;
juvenile public defenders; juvenile courts; penitentiary institutions for
children.
The highest governing body in this area in the United States is the Oce
of Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention, which is headed
by an administrator appointed by the President.
At the federal level, there is the Coordinating Council for Juvenile Justice
and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention, chaired by the General Attorney,
which includes: Ministers of Health, social services, labor, education;
Director of the National Police Oce for Drug Control; other government
ocials, including nine non-ocials appointed by equal quotas by the
President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate
(Gauhman, 2001).
As we can see, top-level ocials in the United States deal with the
protection of children’s rights and freedoms.
A characteristic feature of the administrative and legal regulation of the
police, other specialized bodies and institutions for children in the United
States is its focus primarily on correcting the behavior of the child and
those around him, rather than punitive measures (Rymarenko, 2005). The
algorithm of actions of the police, other specialized bodies and institutions
for children’s aairs in the USA in case of violation of the rights of the child
or commission of the oense by the child provides the following procedures:
1) notication; 2) investigation; 3) intervention; 4) completion of the case.
Depending on the situation, these procedures are carried out with or
without the participation of the police.
In particular, reports of violations of children’s rights, as well as
violations of the law by children, are sent either to the police oce, or to
the Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Justice Prevention Agency, or to social
welfare agencies. The notication can be made by anyone and at any time,
and for certain categories of persons (doctors, teachers, social workers)
such notication is a professional duty. State laws (Arkansas, Ohio) ensure
351
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
the privacy of whistleblowers and guarantee rewards for providing such
information.
The investigation of the reported fact is carried out by the competent
authorities, in accordance with their jurisdictional powers. An investigation
that does not involve police intervention is common; carried out by social
workers or other persons who do not have police powers; shall be held
immediately or no later than 48 hours after receipt of the notication.
Violation of the rights of the child or the commission of an oense by a
child involves the conduct of a police investigation, which is conducted by
the police immediately, in cases provided by law - with the participation
of social workers. Intervention involves the provision of specic services,
support and therapy. It is carried out either by the police or by bodies not
endowed with police powers. The police are involved in the completion of
the case when there is a question of removing the child from the family, or
when the family refuses to cooperate with a social worker, and there are
insucient grounds to go to court (Zane and Pupo, 2021).
The study of the organization and implementation of crime prevention
among children in the United States revealed the following:
1. Administrative and legal regulation of preventive activities among
children in the United States is aimed at: removal of the causes and
conditions of crimes and oenses; prevention of conict situations in
the family; formation of trust between the police and citizens.
2. Priority theories in the eld of preventive activities for American
criminologists are: the theory of primary prevention, aimed at
eliminating external factors contributing to the oense, and the
theory of situational oenses - the assumption that most oenses are
situational in nature and are committed as a result of a coincidence of
circumstances and conditions that encourage and provoke a person
to commit them.
Accordingly, the most eective direction of youth prevention is
the timely elimination of criminogenic factors and the creation of
anti-criminogenic conditions, in the presence of which the oender
abandons his intentions (Alauhanov, 2008).
3. Prevention of delinquency among children is a separate activity of
the state in the United States.
This type of activity is implemented comprehensively, i.e., carried
out at the federal level and at the state level: provides for the
implementation of measures of general social, material and
economic, educational nature; implemented on the basis of long-
term large-scale correction and intervention programs; subjects
of its implementation are state (police, social services, educational
352
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
institutions) and non-governmental (volunteers, municipal
institutions) bodies and institutions.
4. The United States has a successful track record of implementing a
prevention program that addresses a wide range of issues.
Among others, it is advisable to highlight:
1) programs aimed at strengthening the family;
2) programs aimed at eliminating school risk factors and improving the
level of school education;
3) special prevention programs aimed at preventing juvenile
delinquency;
4) tertiary prevention programs aimed at preventing recidivism, etc.
Experts on this issue note that the most eective programs are those
that are based on a multifactorial approach, cover children from an early
age and focus not so much on the child as on the adverse characteristics of
the immediate family and social environment (Bundz, 2017).
2. International models of juvenile justice
In accordance with the United Nations Minimum Standards for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice of 29 November 1985, due regard
must be paid to the implementation of positive measures involving the
full mobilization of all possible resources, including the family, volunteers
and other groups, as well as schools and other public institutions, in order
to promote the well-being of adolescents that should help to reduce the
need for legal intervention and eective, fair and humane treatment of
adolescents in conict with the law.
In international standards, there is a provision according to which the
world and each country in particular needs a separate system of justice
for children, i.e. the existence and functioning of juvenile justice (Belyaeva,
2003).
The purpose of international law, which is the basis for regulating
juvenile justice, is to create favorable conditions for establishing the causes
of crime and nding eective methods of inuence based on specic
personal data to achieve social rehabilitation. As there is no analogue of
“pure” juvenile justice in domestic law, it is necessary to take into account
the many years of foreign experience of existing courts, which have
developed in accordance with the legal systems that emerged long before
the establishment of juvenile justice.
353
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
Juvenile justice itself makes it possible to correctly assess the
commonalities and dierences in juvenile justice when it comes to its
various models (Ischenko, 2017).
Among the main models of foreign juvenile justice are: Anglo-Saxon
(Australia, USA), continental (Germany, France), Scandinavian (Sweden).
Indeed, juvenile justice was most developed in the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. The main reason was the large-scale increase in crime
in the late nineteenth century. It was at this time that Europe and America
were overcrowded with groups of young oenders. All these models of
juvenile justice operate on the basis of separate legislation on the judiciary
and procedure in juvenile justice.
Thus, in the United States such a basis is the Federal Juvenile Justice
and Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act (1974), in Great Britain a number
of laws on children and youth (1908), in Canada - the Juvenile Justice Act
(2003), etc.
According to scholars, dierences in judicial systems do not relate to
the basic specic principles of juvenile justice, but are related to age, social
orientation, individualization of the trial and more. For the completeness of
the study, in our opinion, it is necessary to analyze these models of juvenile
justice and highlight their features and dierences (Kresina et al., 2020).
1. Anglo-Saxon model (Great Britain, Northern Ireland, USA, Australia,
Canada etc.).
This model provides for limited substantive jurisdiction: the juvenile
court considers all types of juvenile oenses, except serious crimes. The
rst juvenile courts were established in Australia in 1890 and in the United
States in 1899. There is no unanimous opinion among scholars about the
priority of creating a system of juvenile courts among these countries,
but there is reason to believe that in the US this process was most clearly
organized and systemic in nature (Kharchuk, 2009).
The US juvenile justice can be characterized from the following positions:
1) the existence of specialization of the judiciary, which provides for the
existence of separate rooms for consideration and resolution of cases
against minors;
2) the presence of a specialized judge and the isolation of juveniles from
adults in places of previous detention;
3) the existence of a simplied trial in the form of an interview of the
judge with the defendant behind closed doors;
354
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
4) exercise by a judge of the management of institutions of guardianship
supervision over minors;
5) wide cooperation of the court with the population of the judicial
district, which enabled juvenile courts to use information on the
living conditions of oending children (Milovidova, 2013).
In the United States, there are so-called non-state juvenile courts, in
which adults either do not participate at all or only manage the proceedings.
These courts hear cases of minor oenses and misdemeanors committed
for the rst time, if the juvenile has admitted his guilt.
Coercive measures used by juvenile courts (attending special classes to
overcome drug or alcohol dependence; monetary restitution, obligation to
participate in a juvenile court hearing as a juror, etc.) are non-repressive
and have signicant educational potential. In other words, juvenile justice
in the United States is characterized by: an individual approach to the child;
special procedure for the trial of juvenile charges; enhanced assistance
to minors; implementation of selected measures for minors by the state
guardian and the public; discussion with guardians and parents of the
appointment of educational and therapeutic measures, etc.
As for Great Britain, the rst juvenile court was established in 1905.
The positive results of this work were the impetus for the creation of a
nationwide system of juvenile courts. Such a system was created in 1909
through the adoption of the Charter for Children.
The existence of juvenile courts has accompanied the emergence of the
following rules:
1) juvenile defendants are divided into categories depending on the
severity of the committed crime;
2) the presence of parents or other relatives in the court hearing is
mandatory;
3) cases are considered separately for each juvenile defendant, even if
the crime was committed in complicity;
4) a corps of probation ocials has been established at the juvenile
court, whose responsibilities include studying the identity of the
juvenile oender and the placement of child oenders;
5) the court exercises control over the implementation of guardianship
over child oenders. Denominational societies are also typical for
England and the United States to help raise children in need of
support (Krukevych, 2014).
355
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
2. Continental model (most countries in Europe and Latin America,
Japan, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Argentina,
Colombia, Venezuela, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Brazil,
Peru, etc.).
In this model, juvenile courts have broad substantive jurisdiction - all
types of juvenile delinquency are considered there and, at the same time,
the court considers cases of children in need of assistance from the state.
In European countries, juvenile courts began to appear in the twentieth
century. They did not have a specic general model, but existed in dierent
versions of the organization, in particular:
1) juvenile tribunals have been set up in Portugal and merged with
guardianship courts;
2) in Switzerland (1911–1913), Japan (1923) an autonomous system of
juvenile courts was established;
3) in Austria, Spain, guardianship courts for juveniles were established;
4) special laws on juvenile courts were adopted in Egypt and Italy;
5) in the Netherlands, the courts established in 1905 were characterized
by the most simplied system of administration of justice;
6) in such Catholic countries as Spain, Italy, Portugal, the church played
an important role in juvenile justice;
7) use of the mediation procedure in such countries as Austria, Belgium,
Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, France, etc. (Kuznetsova, 1991).
Unlike the countries of the Anglo-Saxon legal system, the juvenile court
in Germany did not become separate and autonomous, but acted as a judge
of the General Court, where one of the judges was given special powers for
one year:
1) consideration of all cases concerning minors aged 12 to 18 who are
subject to district courts, and the judge was obliged to conduct a
preliminary investigation;
2) guardianship proceedings against juveniles, whose functions were
taken over by members of child care unions, who also provided
information on the living conditions of juvenile oenders, and by
court decision performed the duty of care for juveniles who remained
at large;
3) public hearing of cases concerning minors, except in cases of closed
court session, provided by law, etc. (Kharchuk, 2009).
356
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
In France, juvenile justice emerged much later than in other European
countries and required considerable eort. The jury has always played a
signicant role, and therefore only in this country from the very beginning
was provided, in addition to the sole judge, also a tribunal for minors, and
later the establishment of a jury for juveniles. Under French liberal law,
children under the age of 13 are not liable at all. Full criminal responsibility
in France begins at the age of eighteen.
In Switzerland, juvenile justice was launched in 2007. Education is at the
forefront. Most often, the juvenile court is limited to warnings or a week of
forced labor. Imprisonment is a last resort, which is resorted to only in the
case of very serious crimes. But a child can be imprisoned in 10 years, there
have been such cases. The upper age limit for “adolescent responsibility” is
22 years (Opatsky, 2012).
Turning to the modern vision of juvenile delinquency and the analysis
of the current state of the juvenile justice system in the countries of the
continental model, we see that crime in European countries is getting
younger. For example, one in three teenagers aged 14-15 in the UK has
admitted to having committed an oense at least once in their life, and
almost half of Britons (49%) believe that children are a growing danger to
adults and to each other.
3. Scandinavian model (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland,
etc.).
This model, in our opinion, is insuciently studied by scientists, but on
some examples, we can see the peculiarities of the functioning of juvenile
justice in the Scandinavian countries, where judicial and administrative
juvenile justice are combined.
Thus, there are no separate juvenile courts in Sweden, but there is a
juvenile judge in a local court or a juvenile court department for juvenile
cases.
The leading role among state institutions dealing with the protection
of the rights of minors in the Scandinavian countries is played by the
social service, organized on a territorial basis, which allows to eectively,
eciently and address the problems of a particular child by professionals
working in its territory.
In Sweden, non-governmental penitentiary institutions for juvenile
oenders operate eectively. Within the local community, a signicant
part of court decisions in juvenile cases are executed, in particular, public
works (minor repairs of buildings, cleaning of the territory, etc.). Also, in
countries such as Finland and Norway, the use of mediation in the juvenile
justice system is relevant (Tereshchuk, 2017).
357
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
3. The system of bodies for the supervision of juvenile oenders
In world jurisprudence, the term “juvenile justice” means a system of
judicial and law enforcement agencies, specialized government agencies and
institutions, public organizations that protect the rights of minors, consider
and resolve cases of juvenile delinquency, carry out further reintegration of
oenders into society.
The purpose of the juvenile justice system is:
1. increasing the level of legal protection of minors;
2. reduction of juvenile delinquency and neglect;
3. increasing the responsibility of the state and society in the growth
and development of children (Babanina et al., 2021);
4. reintegration of juvenile oenders into society.
Many European countries have long adopted a new approach to
responding to juvenile delinquency, in the form of so-called restorative
justice, where the court gives a contractual opportunity to compensate
the victim for physical, material and emotional damage, and thus take
responsibility for the crime committed.
Perception of one’s actions as a deviation from the norm, the ability to
correct what happened, a sincere desire never to repeat such a situation -
the main lesson that a teenager must learn after the application of justice.
As a result, eective repentance, awareness of one’s guilt and
understanding of the seriousness of the damage caused to the victim,
followed by its compensation. Conciliation procedures are clearly prescribed
in procedural law, do not entail the consequences of a conviction for a
juvenile oender and are an eective alternative to repressive measures of
criminal justice (Loeber et al., 2003).
Most countries in the world now have a system of juvenile justice.
According to the existing organizational models of consideration of
cases of juvenile oenders is carried out:
1) specialized juvenile units (boards, chambers) of general courts;
2) a specially formed system of judicial institutions, which is part of the
judicial system.
At the same time, the name of the court, as well as its competence,
diers from dealing exclusively with cases of juvenile delinquency
and to resolving a wide range of civil and criminal cases, if the party
is a minor and children arising from marital relations;
358
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
3) non-judicial bodies with special competence (for example, the
executive branch).
A feature of the juvenile justice systems of most countries is the wide
involvement in the relevant category of aairs of public organizations.
In addition, psychologists, educators, and social workers are involved at
all stages of juvenile proceedings, making these procedures more child-
friendly.
In the USSR, the functions of juvenile justice were in fact entrusted to
non-judicial administrative bodies - the Commission on Juvenile Aairs
(hereinafter - CSC), which was rst formed in 1961. The CSC in the USSR
were endowed with broad powers placing them in educational institutions,
solving general issues of protection of children’s rights.
Later, all cases of administrative oenses against juveniles were
transferred to the court. In March 1996, by a joint order of the Chairman
of the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the Minister of Education of Ukraine,
the Regulations on Judicial Educators were approved (Saullin et al., 1995).
The main tasks of juvenile prevention units in Ukraine are: preventive
activities; maintaining preventive records of children prone to delinquency;
participation in locating missing children; implementation of police care in
case of neglect of the child; protection of the child’s right to education.
Administratively, juvenile prevention units perform two types of tasks:
external and internal.
Internal is to ensure the activities of juvenile prevention units, namely:
stang, increasing the level of professional competence of employees,
application of incentives to employees, etc.
External covers the performance of direct tasks assigned to the bodies
of juvenile prevention, namely: prevention of oenses, administrative;
operational search; criminal procedure.
International legal norms and acts of national legislation pay special
attention to minors as one of the most vulnerable categories of citizens,
which necessitates the creation of special conditions for the protection
and realization of their rights (Veselov, 2019). It was not until the early
twentieth century that the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of the child
were actively developed and enshrined in law.
The changes were due to complex social processes: war, economic crisis,
deterioration of quality of life, lack of appropriate medical care, an increase
in juvenile delinquency.
In such conditions, children were the most aected category of the
population, which in turn was the impetus to reconsider the still existing
359
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
views on the child and his position in the legal eld. As evidenced by the
elaboration of international legal documents in the eld of protection of
children’s rights, these international standards establish the relevant
framework, beyond which the state’s protection mechanisms are not right.
On October 20, 2010 the so-called Yerevan Declaration was adopted
(Council of Europe, 2010), according to which relevant recommendations
were provided on the activities of the prosecutor’s oce in the eld of
protection of the rights and freedoms of minors in criminal proceedings.
All recommendations relate to the role of the special prosecutor, within
the functions dened by national law for the prosecutor’s oce aimed at
protecting the rights and freedoms of minors, i.e., in the eld of juvenile
justice.
Paragraph 3 of the Declaration states that prosecutors are representatives
of state bodies that, on behalf of society and for the interests of the state,
ensure the application of the law when its violation involves criminal
sanctions.
The Yerevan Declaration establishes a number of guarantees for the
professional activity of a juvenile prosecutor, in particular, paragraph 19
stipulates that prosecutor must have the necessary and appropriate means
to exercise their powers in respect of minors, or that other means must be
provided to other competent juvenile services.
In particular, the recruitment system, proper training, the necessary
sta, facilities and specialized services to which they should be granted
access. In addition, Member States should consider setting up special units
or assigning individual sta to deal with juvenile delinquency. In general,
the Declaration contains recommendations aimed at ensuring the eective
operation of the juvenile prosecutor at all stages of juvenile justice.
Currently the reform of the institutional component of the state system
of protection of children’s rights is underway. The leading role in this
direction is given to the improvement of the law enforcement and judicial
system in terms of the formation of juvenile justice in Ukraine (Bondaruk
et al., 2021). At present, in Ukraine exist social services, juvenile units
within the National Police of Ukraine, but there is virtually no relationship
between them. This indicates the actual absence of the juvenile system in
Ukraine as a single system and non-functioning laws in this area.
One of the vectors of these transformations is the establishment of the
institute of juvenile prosecutor’s oce in the state. This process must take
place in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of Ukraine
and international regulations.
Referring to the national legislation of Ukraine, it should be noted that
in accordance with Article 9 of the Constitution of Ukraine, international
360
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
treaties approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are part of the national
legislation of Ukraine.
Conclusions
As a result of the investigation, we can say, that there are three eective
juvenile justice systems in the world that dier signicantly from each
other.
Anglo-Saxon system has at its core the substantive jurisdiction of
juvenile delinquency, except for felony oenses. Boards are established in
cooperation with the public. Their purpose is a preliminary discussion with
parents, teachers, social workers.
The verdict is announced taking into account the study of living
conditions and socialization of a child, which allows us to predict the
possibility of committing an oense in the future. This approach combines
prevention, rehabilitation and punishment for oenses.
A characteristic feature of the Continental system is that juvenile courts
consider all types of juvenile delinquency and those cases where state
intervention is necessary to protect children.
The juvenile system of the Scandinavian model combines judicial and
administrative juvenile justice. There is a position of juvenile judge in local
courts, the training of which corresponds to the tasks set for work with
juvenile oenders.
The leading role is assigned to the social service, which is organized
on a territorial basis. The system of training and selection of personnel
plays an important role. Sta must have pedagogical, psychological and
legal training. Imprisonment is almost non-existent, other non-custodial
sentences are preferred. The mediation procedure plays an important role.
Concerning Ukraine, we have to conclude that it needs to embody the
best features of these systems. From the Anglo-Saxon model, it is possible
to take the example of broad public involvement in the process of minors.
It is necessary to consider not only the oense, but to involve the prism of
the oender’s lifestyle, his or her family, upbringing and living conditions
of a child.
From the Scandinavian model it can take a careful approach to training
in the system of juvenile prevention, as well as the system of social services.
Reliable work of social services should be the rst step in the prevention
and further re-socialization of oenders.
361
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
From the continental model it is preferably to take the mediation
procedure as a mechanism for crime prevention.
It is necessary to revive the social component of the state system by
changing the legal framework to a modern one and focus on training quality
personnel for such a system.
Thus, the creation of a new juvenile judicial and legal system for the
protection of juvenile rights should be carried out both by specialized
state bodies that administer justice in cases involving minors and non-
governmental organizations involved in correction and rehabilitation of
juvenile delinquents, juvenile delinquency prevention, social protection of
families.
Bibliographic References
ABELTSEV, Serhii; MATYUNIN, Andrei; SOLOBOVNIKOV, Svyatoslav.
2000. Hooliganism: criminological analysis. Juridicheskaya literatura.
Kolomna, Russia.
AKIMOVA, Anna. 2015. “Particular cruelty as a way of committing criminal
encroachments” In: Comparative and analytical law. Vol. 4, pp. 300-302.
ALAUHANOV, Evgeniy. 2008. Criminology. General and Special parts. Jurlex.
Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan.
ALEKSEEV, Andrey. 1998. Criminology: a course of lectures. Shield-M.
Moscow, Russia.
ANTONYAN, Yuri; ENIKEEV, Maksim; EMINOV, Vladimir. 1996. Psychology
oender and crime investigation. Nauka. Moscow, Russia.
ANTONYAN, Yuri; GULDAN, Viktor. 1991. Criminal pathopsychology. Nauka.
Moscow, Russia.
AYALA, Jose Maria; VILLAFUERTE, Jose Luis; SALAZAR, Oswaldo Liber;
BENITEZ, Gabriel Horacio. 2021. “Application of diuse cognitive maps
for the analysis and prevention of juvenile delinquency” In: Revista
conrado. Vol. 17, No. 18, pp. 352-357.
BABANINA, Viktoriia; IVASHCHENKO, Vita; GRUDZUR, Oleg; YURIKOV,
Oleksandr. 2021. “Criminal protection of children’s life and health:
international experience” In: Cuestiones políticas. Vol. 39, No. 71, pp.
350-365.
362
Igor Pastukh, Viktoriya Bass, Oleksii Bukhtiiarov y Olena Maksymenko
International approaches to legal regulation of juvenile justice and juvenile prevention
BELYAEVA, Larisa. 2003. “International rules on training police ocers
working with juvenile delinquents” In: Criminological journal. Vol. 1, pp.
50-51.
BONDARUK, Mykola; MELENKO, Serhiy; OMELCHUK, Lubov;
RADCHENKO, Liliya; LEVENETS, Anzhela. 2021. “Juvenile Justitia
and the protection of children’s rights in Europe: the practice of the
European Court of Human Rights” In: Political Questions. Vol. 39, No.
68, pp. 167-185.
BUNDZ, Roman. 2017. “The main activities of the subjects of prevention crimes
committed by minors with extreme cruelty” In: Scientic Bulletin of
Public and Private Law. Vol. 6, pp. 123–127.
COUNCIL OF EUROPE. CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL OF EUROPEAN
PROSECUTORS. 2010. Opinion No. 5. “Public prosecution and juvenile
justice” (YEREVAN DECLARATION). Available online. In: https://
rm.coe.int/1680748228. Consultation date: 03/12/2021.
GAUHMAN, Leonid. 2001. Qualication of crimes: law, theory, practice.
YurInfo. Moscow, Russia.
ISCHENKO, Ibrahim. 2017. “Juvenile prevention as a new paradigm of crime
prevention among children” In: Proceedings of the Academy of the
Ministry of Internal Aairs of the Republic of Tajikistan. Vol. 4, No. 36,
pp. 111-117.
KHARCHUK, Viktor. 2009. “Historical experience of the formation and
functioning of juvenile courts as the main ones bodies of juvenile justice”
In: Justinian. Vol. 7, pp. 29-37.
KOKKALERA, Stuti; TALLAS, Annmarie; GOGGIN, Kelly. 2021.
“Contextualizing the Impact of Legal Representation on Juvenile
Delinquency Outcomes: A Review of Research and Policy” In: Juvenile
and family court journal. Vol. 72 , No. 1, pp.47-71.
KRESINA, Irina; SHUST, Nataliia; HULTAI, Mykhailo; SPIVAK, Maryna;
DURNOV, Yevhen. 2020. “Social responsibility in the context of global
challenges: the case of Ukraine” In: Amazonia investiga. Vol. 9, No. 27,
pp. 578-587.
KRUKEVYCH, Olha. 2014. “Formation and historical development of criminal
justice for minors” In: Electronic scientic professional publication
“Comparative and Analytical Law”. Vol.6, pp. 398-415.
KUZNETSOVA, Natalia. 1991. Crime and punishment in England, USA, France,
Germany, Japan. General part. IurInfo. Moscow, Russia.
363
CUESTIONES POLÍTICAS
Vol. 40 Nº 73 (2022): 345-363
LOEBER, Rolf; FARRINGTON, David; PETECHUK, David. 2003. “Child
Delinquency: Early Intervention and Prevention” In: Child Delinquency:
Bulletin. Vol. 19, pp. 1-19.
MEDITSKY, Ivan. 2008. “Prevention of crime: a textbook”. Svit nauky. Ivano-
Frankivsk. Kiev, Ukraine.
MILOVIDOVA, Svitlana. 2013. “Foreign experience in preventing administrative
oenses and ways of borrowing it for Ukraine” In: Comparative and
Analytical Law. Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 242-245.
OPATSKY, Roman. 2012. “Foreign experience in the implementation of juvenile
justice” In: Legal Science. Vol. 2, pp. 146-152.
RIVMAN, Dmitry; USTINOV, Boris. 1999. Victimology. Atika. N. Novgorod,
Russia.
RYMARENKO, Yuri. 2005. International Police Encyclopedia. In Jure. Kyiv,
Ukraine.
SAFIULLIN. Nikita; DANILEVSKAYA, Marina; KULIKOV, Nikolay. 1995.
Peculiarities of criminal behavior of minors. Prostor. Kazan, Russia.
STEKETEE, Majone; AUSSEMS, Claire; MARSHALL, Ineke Haen. 2021.
“Exploring the Impact of Child Maltreatment and Interparental Violence
on Violent Delinquency in an International Sample” In: Journal of
interpersonal violence. Vol. 36, No. 13-14, pp. NP7319-NP7349.
TERESHCHUK, Galyna. 2017. “Foreign experience in the operation of basic
models of juvenile justice” In: Current issues of jurisprudence. Vol. 2,
No. 10, pp. 116-120.
VESELOV, Nikolay. 2019. “Juvenile justice in the system of ensuring the rights
of children” In: Bulletin of KazNU named after. Al-Farabi. Legal series.
Vol. 3, No. 91, pp. 42-52.
ZANE, Steven; PUPO, Jhon. 2021. “Disproportionate Minority Contact in the
Juvenile Justice System: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” In:
Justice quarterly. Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 1293-1318.
www.luz.edu.ve
www.serbi.luz.edu.ve
www.produccioncienticaluz.org
Esta revista fue editada en formato digital y publicada
en julio de 2022, por el Fondo Editorial Serbiluz,
Universidad del Zulia. Maracaibo-Venezuela
Vol.40 Nº 73
