It begins with a film, the alarmist tone. "At the dawn of the XXI century e , delinquency is cured. In less than ten years, convictions for violent juveniles grew by 150% ", hammers the commentary. Tuesday at the chancery, Rachida Dati was planning a documentary to its guests, condensed warning safe. This was to establish a working group of "think" to reform the 1945 ordinance on juvenile justice. And make proposals on 1 st November. But the speech of the Minister of Justice, followed by the chairman of the working group, the lawyer Andre Varinard, very close to the tone, shows that the government's plans in this area have already been well "thinking" .
13 years in prison before?
Ordinance of 1945 establishes the principle of a juvenile justice system different from that of adults, where the education takes precedence over the law enforcement. It is a minimum age, 13 years, below which a juvenile may not be subject to criminal sanction. It may be called to order, punished, but through education. For example, it may be followed by an educator and be bound by a number of commitments. But it does not pain.
In his speech, Rachida Dati has warned about the "strong progression of delinquency under 13 years ". It held "not without its critics' inability to " impose a sentence " these children. Andre Varinard went further: must "find a more effective methodology" to bring more young people in the right way. On several occasions, the idea of applying criminal sanctions, thus possibly prison sentences, with less than 13 years was mentioned.
A "minimum age" of responsibility
The 1945 ordinance does not "minimum age" criminal responsibility. This means that if a threshold (13 years) are to be sentenced to a term, there is not, however, minimum age to be punished with an educational measure. The juvenile judge is charged on a case by case, assess the " discernment" of the child. And impose a sanction education, whatever their age. Dati wants the introduction of a minimum age. It claimed that the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), committing France since 1990. This "threshold" below which no convictions of any kind whatsoever is possible, exists in most European countries. But the differences are enormous: 7 years in Greece, 10 in Great Britain, 12 in Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy, 14 in Germany. The Committee on the Rights of the Child United Nations recommends that this threshold is set at 12 years. Decide that France? Given the government's determination to want to criminalize the age of 13, one can legitimately worry. In a rare statement, UNICEF France has called on members of the working group "to consider the age of 12 years is the extreme minimum" .
Try minors as majors?
"It seems impossible to continue speaking children and children's judge when that crime relates to older adolescents whose offenses are similar to those committed by adults" said Andre Varinard in his speech. A phrase that echoes the comments of Nicolas Sarkozy. "A boy of 17 measuring 1.90 m hitting the ground with unprecedented violence a photographer or a little girl, bring him before the juvenile court, he has nothing of a child c ' is perfectly ridiculous ", he claimed in April 2006. Behind these statements, the two projects. The first is to address the "slice" , as said Rachida Dati, minors 16 to 18 years, the government wants to be tried as adults. Andre Varinard expressed the wish that "beyond 16 years, minors can still fall specialized courts, but closer to the common law" . The breach was opened by the law on recidivism of 10 August 2007, which eliminates "the excuse of minority" when the juvenile is a repeat offender. And thus to impose sentences similar to those of adults. Rachida Dati said Tuesday its intention to strengthen the logic of gradation according to relapse "tiered" . "No route to minors is automatic, straight, with offenses becoming more serious , worries Laurence Bellon, vice president of the juvenile court in Lille. The notion of recurrence requires a maturity and a will. You can not apply to minors as adults. We need a flexible learning. "
Delete juvenile judge?
The second project concerns the definition of a juvenile judge. It has indeed, for the moment, a double cap. He does not merely punish the young, he is also responsible for child protection, therefore monitoring of educational measures. Whereas a delinquent child is a child in danger, the 1945 has wanted to link the two functions. "At the chancery, they have already calculated it would save 240 judges whether the litigation was withdrawn educational assistance to the juvenile judge to be assigned to the councils' , worries the general secretary of the Trade Union of Magistrates (USM). "Having to deal with educational assistance does not affect my effectiveness, however, alarmed Laurence Bellon. is quite similar to the role of a teacher who punishes both, is zero if it does not work, and explains, with a mission of learning. The juvenile judge is one who teaches criminal law, not that automatically applies. If we remove the pedagogy, the penalty has no chance of being effective. "
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