Administration of juvenile justice

Human rights body:
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Themes:
Isolation and solitary confinementJuvenile justiceTreatment of prisoners and prison facilities
Populations of concern:
Asylum seekers and refugeesChildren

Recommended measures (4)

35. The Committee welcomes the amendments to the Execution of Sentences Act abolishing the possibility of using isolation as a disciplinary measure. With reference to its general comment No. 10 (2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice, the Committee urges the State party to bring its juvenile justice system fully into line with the Convention and other relevant standards. In particular, the Committee recommends that the State party:

Measure
Measure type:
Institutions, practices and guidelines
Responsible Ministry:
Ministry of Justice and Public Security

(a) Discontinue preventive detention for children.

Measure
Measure type:
Institutions, practices and guidelines
Responsible Ministry:
Ministry of Justice and Public Security

(b) Where detention is unavoidable, ensure that children are not detained together with adults, both in pretrial detention and after being sentenced, and, in line with the Committee’s previous recommendations, withdraw the reservation to article 10 (2) (b) and (3), of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, “with regard to the obligation to keep accused juvenile persons and juvenile offenders segregated from adults” (CRC/C/NOR/CO/4, para. 7).

Measure
Measure type:
Institutions, practices and guidelines
Responsible Ministry:
Ministry of Justice and Public Security

(c) Strengthen safeguards to ensure that isolation as a preventive measure is avoided to the greatest extent possible.

Measure
Measure type:
Laws and regulations
Responsible Ministry:
Ministry of Justice and Public Security

(d) Make the necessary legislative amendments to extend the application of the alternative form of sanction, the so-called juvenile sanction, to asylum-seeking children.