Justice for juveniles

Following is the address delivered by Chief Justice Dr. Shirani A. Bandaranayake at the opening of the Juvenile Court in Jaffna on 17 November 2011

It is indeed great pleasure to be amongst you in this enchanting City of Jaffna. I have very pleasant memories of my visits to this city as a child with my family members and it was with a great sense of contentment that I accepted this invitation.

For the Judiciary, as a whole, today marks a very important day as this is the very first Juvenile Court we are opening in the northern peninsula. It is also to be noted that is the only such court in the country, in the addition to the Juvenile Court at Battaramulla in Colombo. Today’s event therefore could be regarded as a historic moment for our Judiciary.

No one would disagree with the view expressed by Sophocles that the children are the anchors that hold a mother to life. Mothers would no doubt agree with me on how true this expression is even in today’s context.

We cannot also forget what Sigmund Freud had stated about children, that they are completely egoistic, that they feel their needs intensely and strive ruthlessly to satisfy them. These statements clearly show the value of a child as well as the need to deal with them in a special manner.

This should be the situation with regard to the criminal justice system. Due to some unfortunate and/or unforeseen situation if a child gets involved in a crime, if the country does not have a specialised juvenile justice system, children in conflict with the law would be dealt with in the same manner as the courts would be dealing with the adults.

However, countries where the juvenile justice system has been adopted act differently, as that would develop a unique system of criminal justice. Such a system would also incorporate institution and systems designed to achieve this objective.

Two other matters also would be important in this regard.

Firstly, a well-established juvenile justice scheme would include, in addition to the Courts, the Police, the prosecutors, the lawyers, the social workers, probation officers and juvenile officers as well as the jails and prisons.

Each of these institutions, whilst holding them as independent units, would have to join as a team, having the juveniles’ welfare as their paramount interest and importance. For the success of this exercise, it is quite understandable that all these independent units would have to actively participate and assist each other independently as well as collectively, having the welfare of the juvenile as the main objective in mind.

Secondly, it would be necessary to consider carefully the kind of punishment that should be meted out to a young offender. Although the criminal justice systems in many countries are retributive, it would be necessary to consider applying restorative justice for young offenders. This would give opportunity for the young offender to rehabilitate himself as it diverts the offender away from the formal criminal justice system.

At the same time through a juvenile court, it would be possible for the magistrate to consider alternatives to detention and how care, guidance, probation, supervision orders and family reunions for the young offender could be provided.

With the opening of the new court house for the Juvenile Court in Jaffna, all these could be used for the betterment of our society. If not for the painstaking efforts taken by the Minister of Justice, the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and its other officials this beautiful building would not have been a reality.

I am aware that the construction process was not an easy task for them to carry out. However, amidst many other matters in hand, the Ministry of Justice had not only found the finances, but also the time and other assistance to ensure that this building would be ready to be opened before the end of this year for the Juvenile Judge to commence work as early as possible.

For judges and lawyers, I am certain that the Ministry would make every endeavour to include space for a library at every court house and provide them with the necessary books and law reports. This would no doubt enhance the quality of the decisions and enrich the judicial process in the country.

It would also be necessary to take steps to construct residential facilities for judges and adequate office space for lawyers, which would assist them to carry out their respective functions more efficiently.

Since the Ministry of Justice had carried out more than its fair share, in bringing out this new building, now it is the duty of the Judicial Service Commission to take steps to appoint the Juvenile Judge and his staff. We will take steps early to do so and shall render all the necessary assistance not only to make it a reality, but also a success. We have taken several measures to give a proper training for our judges, at the time of their recruitment as well on later occasions for specific needs as and when they arise.

When training programmes are structured, steps have been taken to include the juvenile justice system as well, since it is an important area which is necessary to develop and improve.

We Sri Lankans have had hard times and throughout several centuries we have moved forward with several achievements to our credit. At a time when lasting peace is upon us, we must extend our fullest support in improving our systems in order to eradicate our shortcomings. Let me assure you that together with all of you, I will leave no stone unturned to fulfil the aspirations for justice of the people of Mother Lanka.