Juvenile Justice and Human Rights

Criminal offences carried out by juveniles have a serious impact on society. Nonetheless, the rights of the child demand that juvenile justice is designed and implemented in the best interest of the child. Alternative responses to judicial proceedings for juvenile offenders are mandated by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and states are required to create a youth justice system as an alternative to the “adult” criminal justice system.

There are two main objectives of the course:
• To provide participants with a thorough understanding of the legal and policy framework for juvenile justice, with the starting point of respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the human rights of children in the criminal justice system.
• To develop an individualised analysis and framework for a human rights-based approach to juvenile justice in their own countries, by
- analysing their countries’ national normative framework in light of the international human rights framework related to juvenile justice, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of their system
- Identifying local stakeholders in national juvenile justice systems, and developing indicators relevant to juvenile justice

Course Content:
• International normative framework on juvenile justice, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Beijing Rules and Riyadh Guidelines
• Comparative discussion of different systems of juvenile justice: Denmark, USA, Germany, Malawi, Serbia.
• The flow of juvenile justice, including the concept and methods of diversion, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms relevant for juvenile justice.
• Visit to relevant institutions in Denmark

Course Methodology:
During the week-long course, participants will be challenged to analyse their country’s juvenile justice system in light of the concepts discussed, and develop indicators and other tools so as to incorporate human rights strategies into their juvenile justice programming.

The methodological approach of the course will be lectures, case studies, group work and individual work. Participants will be expected to actively engage in course discussions, by sharing their experiences, knowledge, and the concrete challenges they face. There will also visits to relevant Danish institutions.

Level: professional

Participants: juvenile justice practitioners from developing countries; staff of criminal justice system institutions and agencies, and human rights and development worker working in this or related fields. Participants should already have a basic knowledge of international human rights, and be able to fully participate in a course in English. The number of participants is limited to 25.

Tuition, fee, lodging: Course tuition fee is 10000 DKK, which includes only the course fee, materials, lunch and coffee breaks. The course fee does not include travel expenses, visa arrangements, hotel or accommodation, or insurance, and the participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation. The organisers do not provide scholarships for this course but may upon request support applications to e.g. donors by the participants upon their registration.