engleski

Treatment of Child Offenders in Croatia: Rethinking the Alternatives Within and Outside the Criminal Justice System

The first part of the article analyses the international agreements related to children'd issues and constitutional provisions regarding the protection of children. The second part deals with the definition of children in Croatian legislation as well as with the statistical information about the number of children in Croatia. The third part investigates the causes and proportions of child delinquency in Croatia. The fourth part analyses the criteria of criminal responsibility of children in Croatia, the role of professionals dealing with delinquency of minors, special procedural regime before juvenile courts, and sanctions for minors. Fifth part defines the legal status (criminal irresposivility) of children under age of 14 as perpetrators. Sixth part deals with the concept of alternative family care "de lege lata" and "de lege ferenda". Seventh part is dedicated to policy considerations and mechanisms of prevention of juvenile delinquency. Finally, the author provides a critical evaluation of the success of juvenile delinquency policy and practice in Croatia.

juvenile justice, juvenile offenders, juvenile crime, juvenile punishment

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