Human rights law and juvenile justice: Emerging law and practice

Further guidance on the implementation of these obligations can be found in the General Comment on Juvenile Justice adopted by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2007 (Committee on the Rights of the Child 2007). This is an elaborate and comprehensive document that advises states about the application of the Convention in the area of youth justice. Although the General Comment reinforces the Convention’s core principles in relation to the treatment of children in conflict with the law, it also seeks to address some of the gaps in the Convention. One such gap is that the child does not have an unequivocal right to a lawyer; rather, Article 40(2)(b)(ii) makes provision for the child’s entitlement to legal ‘and other appropriate assistance’. Clearly, according to the Convention, the child does not always have to be represented by a lawyer, but he/she must have ‘appropriate’ assistance. According to the Committee, states should provide as much as possible for ‘adequate trained legal assistance, such as expert lawyers or paralegal professionals’ and whereas other appropriate assistance is possible... that person must have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the various legal aspects of the process of juvenile justice and must be trained to work with children in conflict with the law’. More generally, the General Comment elaborates on how the trial process should be adapted to take into account children’s particular circumstances. Based on Article 14 of the Beijing Rules (on the Administration of Juvenile Justice), the General Comment highlights that ‘the proceedings should be conducted in an atmosphere of understanding to allow the child to participate and to express himself/herself freely’ and that taking the child’s age and maturity into account may also require ‘modified courtroom procedures and practices’.