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🎥 YouTube Lecture Notes — Juvenile Justice System

Source

YouTube playlist (reference): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQe8ZUZBIxt-X1qRVwO8XUck3IeCuUVZE

Notes extracted from the CSS Criminology YouTube lecture series (Video: Juvenile Justice System, Topic 6), matched to this chapter.

Lecture Notes — Juvenile Justice System

(Extracted/translated from a Hindi/Urdu-language lecture.)

Why a separate Juvenile Justice System exists (framing point):

  • FPSC wants candidates to know: the role of police, the role of the juvenile court, the role of the prosecutor, and probation/non-punitive alternatives
  • The Juvenile Justice System (JJS) is a structure within the criminal legal system that deals specifically with crimes committed by minors, usually aged 10–18
  • Recap from the Juvenile Delinquency lecture: under doli incapax, nothing committed by a child under 10 is a crime; a child aged 10–18 (the "upper age of eligibility") falls within the Juvenile Justice System
  • The same act that would be a "crime" for an adult is called a juvenile offence when committed by a minor

Why juveniles are treated differently (rationale):

  • Juveniles are not prosecuted or tried the same way as adults, and are not held in the same jails/courts as adults
  • Purpose: protect juveniles from exploitation/manipulation, rehabilitate them back into society, and specifically avoid the effects of labelling theory — calling a child a "criminal" for a minor offence causes them to internalize and reproduce that label, per labelling theory
  • Juvenile courts aim for fairness/equity and public safety through rehabilitation rather than punishment

Relevant/underlying laws (historical sequence given in the lecture):

  • Pakistan Penal Code, 1860
  • Criminal Procedure Code, 1898
  • Punjab Youthful Offenders Ordinance, 1983
  • (an earlier Juvenile Justice-related law referenced as "1986")
  • Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000
  • Juvenile Justice System Act (JJSA), 2018 — the current governing law, approved by the President of Pakistan in 2018; overcomes the shortcomings present in the 2000 Ordinance and gives a better system combining criminal justice with social reintegration, rehabilitation, and restoration
  • Exam tip from the lecture: know the difference between an "Ordinance" and an "Act" — the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance became the Juvenile Justice System Act in 2018

JJSA 2018 — key definitions and structure:

  • Defines "child" per the UNCRC (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) definition: a person who has not attained the age of 18
  • Classifies criminal offences (when committed by a juvenile) into three categories: Minor offences, Major offences, and Heinous offences

The three offence categories and their bail treatment:

  • Minor offences: offences where the normal (adult) Pakistan Penal Code punishment is up to 3 years with no fine — a juvenile accused of such an offence gets bail easily, with or without surety bonds
  • Major offences: offences where the normal PPC punishment ranges from 3–7 years (e.g. minor theft, a driving-related offence) — bail can still be granted to the juvenile, but a surety bond may be required/more necessary
  • Heinous offences: serious, brutal, and shocking-to-public-morality offences (e.g. murder, rape) where the PPC prescribes death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment of more than 7 years without fine — if the juvenile is under 16, bail may still be granted at the court's discretion after weighing the evidence/witnesses available

Salient features of JJSA 2018 (as listed in the lecture):

  • Right to legal assistance for the juvenile
  • Juvenile observation homes
  • Juvenile rehabilitation centres
  • A mechanism for age determination
  • Separate challan (charge sheet) and separate trial from adults — specifically to prevent labelling theory from applying
  • Confidentiality of identity as a penalty-avoidance/protective measure (again to prevent labelling)
  • Special provisions for status offenders, ensuring no labelling in their processing either

Role of police (as summarized in the lecture):

  • Handling arrest with a separate challan, protecting the juvenile from victimization, and processing status offenders without any labelling

Other elements the JJS deals with: court referral, status offenders, protective services, education, arrest alternatives, and training.

Lecturer's caution: some adults reportedly exploit juveniles specifically to have crimes committed "through" them, knowing minors will not be treated the same way as adults under this law — worth noting as a critical-evaluation point in an exam answer on the system's limitations.