PAKISTAN’S criminal justice system is lagging behind the rest of the world regarding the protection of the rights of juvenile offenders, who were being treated as hardened criminals because of the absence of special laws regarding the separate treatment of juveniles from adult offenders, the establishment of juvenile courts for trial, separate detention centers or prisons, determination of the age of a juvenile and special treatment of juvenile for their uplifting till 1999. However, the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 was incorporated into the criminal justice system of Pakistan to bring reforms regarding juvenility following international commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Beijing Rules. The ordinance was full of flaws and contradictory with other laws in divergent aspects that created legal complications. Meanwhile, the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 was annulled by the Lahore High Court.
Later on, the Juvenile Justice System Act of 2018 was enacted by the federal government for the purpose of overcoming the shortcomings of JJSO 2000. No doubt, the new act backed up Pakistan’s criminal justice system with more refined laws regarding juvenility. The act also provided special procedures for the arrest, investigation, bail, trial, detention, and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. The major aim of the act was to protect juvenile offenders from the maltreatment and defects of the system. However, the act is not perfect as it has yet room for improvement, and there is a constant challenge of fair implementation of certain laws of the act.
According to section 4 of the Juvenile Justice System Act of 2018, government is supposed to establish separate juvenile courts in each district to ensure separate trials and other court proceedings to avoid the appearance of juveniles in adult courts. However, a few districts have juvenile courts. However, these courts have not been set up in all districts of Pakistan. This blatant violation is exerting bad impacts on the psychological health of juveniles. The government with the help of high courts should focus on the establishment of juvenile courts in all districts, so that the rights of children could be protected and they could be saved from the terrible and torturous environment of adult courts. The separation will also play a role in saving juveniles from interaction with adult criminals and habitual offenders so that they cannot be influenced by adult offenders to be habitual offenders. The rights of juveniles are also violated in prisons. They are sexually abused and maltreated in prisons. Juvenile prisons lack a comprehensive monitoring mechanism. There is also no proper monitoring of juvenile cells.
Section 20 of the Juvenile Justice System Act of 2018 devises the establishment and certification of observation homes and Juvenile Rehabilitation Centres, including separate centres for female juveniles. But Juvenile Rehabilitation Centres have not been set up yet throughout the country to ensure the welfare and betterment of juveniles so that they can be guided rightly to be good citizens. Separate centres for female juveniles have not been set up yet in all provinces, too.
No doubt, the JJS Act of 2018 is a landmark legal instrument in the criminal justice system of Pakistan. However, such great efforts are clinched with the constant challenge of implementation. There is always a gap between theory and practice in Pakistan. Governments formulate laws, but no further encouraging steps are taken for fair implementation of these laws to uphold the rule of law. Federal and provincial governments should play their role in the fair implementation of the JJS Act of 2018 so children’s rights can be protected under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Nelson Mandela Rules, and the Beijing Rules. Pakistan should also fulfill its international legal obligation regarding the implementation of such laws. The judiciary should also play its role in protecting the fundamental rights of children under these laws so that our criminal justice system can provide a constructive environment to juvenile offenders to make them good and productive citizens despite being criminals and habitual offenders.
—The writer is a Lahore-based practicing lawyer, human rights activist and a researcher on criminal & Juvenile Justice System of America & Pakistan.
