Currently, juvenile justice is not practiced at the legislative level on the territory of the Russian Federation. However, there are regions where, as an experiment, it was established to check how effective it would be as a way of preventing juvenile crimes. Specially trained judges lead juvenile courts; the work is carried out in close interconnection with various services of such areas as pedagogy and psychology. In addition, juvenile justice works closely with the guardianship authorities.
Based on the legislation of the Russian Federation, it is worth noting that liability for minors, including criminals, comes early. The minimum age is 14 years, in some cases – 16 years; these people get specialized adjusted punishment (Bystrova & Tcherni, 2015). However, at the moment in Russia, such cases are considered by the courts of general jurisdiction. Most human rights defenders are convinced of the need to introduce juvenile justice in Russia at the legislative level. Moreover, they operate on the fact that in foreign countries, this experience was positive and led to high results in the prevention and reduction of crime in the teenage environment.
Some regions of the country took part in an experiment on the application of juvenile justice in practice. This experience revealed the following trends: the analysis of the judgments handed down by juvenile courts and their correlation with relapses proved an overall positive trend towards a decrease (Regoli et al., 2016). Nevertheless, while juvenile justice does not work in the country at the legislative level, even its theoretical application causes controversies. Undoubtedly, there are many advantages in juvenile justice, but some shortcomings cannot be overlooked. For example, when introducing this legal practice, there is a possibility that the guardianship authorities may begin to misuse their powers. This potential behavior seems unfair and is a significant argument against establishing a full-fledged juvenile justice system in Russia.
Among the countries practicing juvenile justice, there are precedents for the arbitrariness of guardianship authorities, which shocked the general public. A party that opposes the introduction of this system in Russian legislation appeals that there is a high probability of harming the institution of family relations (Regoli et al., 2016). Juvenile justice can become the basis for depriving people of parental rights without apparent reasons for this, relying solely on the subjective opinion of the guardianship authorities.
Those who advocate the need to introduce juvenile justice in Russia, on the contrary, assure that it will be fair, especially for protecting the rights of children. They claim that the system will have the only goal: preserving the family and the child in it (Bystrova & Tcherni, 2015). The removal of children from their parents will be carried out in cases where further stay in the family can harm the child’s health or life.
Based on the fact that the level of juvenile delinquency in Russia has increased significantly in recent years, juvenile courts will fully justify their presence. Their task will not be the application of punitive measures against offenders under the age of majority. Their goal is to identify and eliminate the causes that led to the child’s asocial behavior, protecting the interests and rights of children. At the moment, this side is the most vulnerable in the implementation on the territory of the Russian Federation. In any case, the introduction of juvenile justice in Russia should be taken as carefully as possible. The pursuit of good, at first glance, goals, can lead to a radically opposite result.
References
Bystrova, E., & Tcherni, M. (2015). Juvenile justice in Russia. In M. D. Krohn & J. Lane (Eds.), The handbook of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice (pp. 40-48). Wiley Blackwell.
Regoli, R. M., Hewitt, J. D., & DeLisi, M. (2016). Delinquency in society. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.