Les progrès et leurs effets pervers dans l’application de la justice des mineurs : une perspective comparative

Abstract

One of the most important developments in juvenile justice systems in the western countries over this century has been the 1970s crisis of the well established welfare model, a crisis based on the lack of rights in juvenile procedures, the ineffectiveness of treatment interventions and the failure to decrease delinquency in society.

The reaction to this situation assumed different forms in different contexts, and showed numerous contradictions.

In some countries the justice model, an adultisation of juvenile justice, became dominant; in other countries the «back to justice » movement was not accepted, and other models developed.

In the actual organisation of juvenile justice some trends emerged : deinstitutionalisation, diversion and community alternatives to custody, the utilisation of private resources and volunteers inside a public network and bifurcation between serious and normal offenders.

The crisis of the welfare model and critical aspects of the justice model for juveniles has stimulated experts and policy makers to search for new paradigms, such as, for exemple, delinquency management, reparation and mediation, which probably represent important elements of the future of juvenile justice systems.