“Challenges regarding the implementation of some provisions of the Child Justice Act: Lessons from South Africa”

Abstract

The Child Justice Act (75 of 2008) is an important piece of legislation, as it puts forth a separate criminal justice system for children and youth who come into contact with the law, acknowledging that their needs are different to their adult counterparts. While the Act has been perceived by some as one of the best pieces of legislation relating to child justice in the world, challenges in implementation are still experienced in practice. This article explores the challenges involved in the implementation of selected provisions of the South African Child Justice Act and proposes recommendations on how these challenges could be overcome to achieve the overall aims and objectives of the Act. The provisions of the Act this article focuses on include training probation officers as specialised youth justice authorities, pre-trial assessments, accreditation of youth diversion programmes, pre-sentence reports, and restorative justice sentences. With these provisions in mind, the greatest effort is needed in order to advance the overall aims of the Act which seek to promote a rights-based approach to managing children and youth accused of crimes while also encouraging accountability in order to break the cycle of crime. The article offers insights on solving implementation challenges; firstly, recommendations to the employers of probation officers regarding the nature of support and infrastructure they will require to be able to deliver efficient probation services in South Africa; and, secondly, lessons for other countries with a similar socio-economic background to South Africa, on establishing separate laws for managing child and youth offenders.

Key words: Child Justice Act; specialised youth justice authorities; probation officers; pre-trial assessments; accreditation of youth diversion programmes; pre-sentence reports; restorative justice sentences; family group conferencing.