Adolescence is the bridge between childhood and adulthood. It is a period full of contradictions and upheavals and due to the influence of various factors, which can be social and economic, individual or environmental, deviant behaviour can occur during this period. When such behaviour crosses the line of what is permissible by law, we speak of juvenile delinquency.
As juveniles differ from adults in many ways, the idea soon arose that juveniles ought to be treated differently from adult offenders in criminal law. Different countries have tackled this problem in different ways, wherein some countries make more use of the principles of restorative justice and some less. Research has shown restorative justice to be extremely successful compared to the punitive approach of punishing minors.
In my Master's thesis I look at the differences in the penal systems, more specifically custodial sentences, in three countries – Slovenia, Norway and the United States of America. I focused on custodial sentences as they limit human rights to the greatest extent.
To study the differences, I used various sources, including reports from the police and other authorities involved in the juvenile justice system, legislation and precedents in regards with American system.
I found that all three countries follow the individual principles of restorative justice, but in the USA, the stronger influence of punitive approach to punish minors is still visible, which is mainly indicated by the conditions in their institutions for serving custodial sentences. Juveniles are often isolated, subjected to physical violence or serve their sentence in institutions with appalling conditions. An important problem in the US is also the unequal treatment of minors depending on the state they come from. On the other hand, Slovenia and Norway have much better implemented principles of restorative justice, as they strive for the resocialization of juvenile offenders. Nevertheless, these two countries also face their own individual problems. Namely, Norway has received several criticisms regarding its non-compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the violation of the ban on not separating juveniles and adult offenders in institutions for custodial sentences. Slovenia on the other hand has been waiting for the adoption of the extremely necessary Act on the Treatment of Juvenile Offenders for a long time, as the rules of the Criminal Code from 1994 and the provisions of other laws are currently being applied. The adoption of this law would instate a comprehensive and systematic treatment of the matter with clear starting points.
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