IPJJ - Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice

The Standard Minimum Rules seek to set out what is generally accepted as being good principle and practice in the treatment of prisoners and the management of institutions. Specific dispositions relate to young prisoners.

The Beijing Rules provide guidance to states on protecting children’s rights and respecting their needs when developing separate and specialised systems of juvenile justice. These rules formed the first international legal instrument which comprehensively regulated the administration of juvenile justice within a child rights and child development approach.

This Declaration does not relate specifically to children; however fundamental principles of justice for all victims are addressed here, including access to justice and fair treatment, restitution, compensation and assistance.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most important legal instrument in relation to juvenile justice because it is legally binding on all members of the United Nations, except Somalia and the USA (as they have not yet ratified the Convention). Articles with specific reference to juvenile justice include: article 37 and article 40.

The JDLs set out standards applicable when a child is confined to any institution or facility, whether this be penal, correctional, educational or protective and whether the detention be on the grounds of conviction of, or suspicion of, having committed an offence, or simply because the child is deemed 'at risk'.

The Riyadh Guidelines represent a comprehensive and proactive approach to prevention and social reintegration, detailing social and economic strategies that involve society at large. Prevention is seen not merely seen as tackling negative situations, but rather as a means to positively promote general social welfare.

The Tokyo Rules are intended to promote greater community involvement in the management of criminal justice, especially in the treatment of offenders, as well as to promote a sense of responsibility towards society among offenders. The criminal justice system should provide a wide range of non-custodial measures, from pre-trial to post sentencing dispositions.

The Vienna Guidelines can be seen as the founding resolution of the IPJJ as it invites the Secretary-General to consider establishing a coordination panel on technical advice and assistance in juvenile justice. The document contains, as an annex, Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice System that provide a comprehensive set of measures that need to be implemented in order to establish a well-functioning system of juvenile justice administration, which is consistent with international standards.

This resolution contains the preliminary draft elements of a declaration of basic principles applicable when utilising restorative justice programmes in criminal matters. It stipulates that restorative justice programmes should be generally available at all stages of the criminal justice process and gives details on the operation of restorative justice programmes.

The UN Guidelines on Justice Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime provide a practical framework to assist in the reviewing and designing of laws, procedures and practices, ensuring full respect for the rights of child victims and witnesses of crime and in support of those professionals working with such children.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 10 (2007) on "Children's rights in juvenile justice" aims to encourage States to develop and implement a comprehensive juvenile justice policy to prevent and address juvenile delinquency based on, and in compliance with, the CRC, providing guidance and recommendations for the framework of this comprehensive juvenile justice policy.

The resolution encourages State Parties to make use of the technical assistance tools developed by the members of the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice. It requests the members of the IPJJ to continue providing assistance to Member States, upon request, in the area of child justice.

The resolution welcomes the strengthening of the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice, and encourages the members of the Panel to further increase their cooperation, in order to enhance the capacity of the Panel to respond favourably to requests for technical assistance in the field of juvenile justice.

The resolution addresses many aspects of juvenile justice, amongst other: the use of alternative measures, such as diversion and restorative justice; capital punishment and life imprisonment for offences committed by persons under 18 years of age; and technical advice and assistance provided by the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice.

The resolution encourages Member States to provide adequate resources to the secretariat of the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice and its members and encourages the members of the IPJJ to further increase their cooperation, to share information and to pool their capacities and resources.

The resolution addresses many aspects of juvenile justice, amongst other: juvenile justice reform; pretrial detention; children of prisoners; alternative measures; rehabilitation and reintegration strategies; capital punishment and life imprisonment for offences committed by persons under 18 years of age; and technical advice and assistance provided by the Interagency Panel on Juvenile Justice.

The aim of this resolution was to build on the focus on juvenile justice developed in the preceding resolution adopted in 2009. A number of new issues regarding the situation of children and young people deprived of their liberty were introduced such as the minimum age of criminal responsibility; the issue of status offenses; the collection of relevant information concerning children within their criminal justice systems; and the introduction of monitoring mechanisms. The resolution also encourages States to provide the secretariat of the IPJJ and its members with adequate resources.