Juvenile Justice System

One such area as identified by the Articles 37 and 40 of the UNCRC calls for improvement in the Juvenile Justice Administration System. Since 1980 there has been no example of execution of children. The present Government of President Pervaiz Musharaf has waived the execution of all those children who were awaiting execution. Moreover, Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000 has recently promulgated which is indeed a bedrock of the juvenile justice system. It provides viable mechanism of high standard in Pakistan. Separate juvenile Courts have also been established.

The Government of Pakistan accorded remission on Eid-ul-Fitre and Eid-ul-Azha for under-trial juveniles and women. Accordingly, prosecutions were withdrawn against the under-trial children below the age of 18 years who have been in jails for over 18 months and in whose cases, the court proceedings have not yet started except those involved in murder, terrorist act, anti-state activities and Qisas / Hadood cases. 412 juveniles and 264 women benefited from across the four provinces as well as the AJK. 

Another initiative seeks to assist Pakistan's remaining 3080 juvenile prisoners under-trial. The Government is processing an enabling provision whereby the withdrawing of prosecution on a one on a one-time basis would allow thousands of juveniles to get immediate benefit.

STATE OF JUVENILES IN JAILS (2002)

The Government of Pakistan has recently promulgated Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000 which is indeed a bedrock of the juvenile justice system and provides viable mechanism of high standard in Pakistan.

•  For the first time, a person under the age of 18 years has been acknowledged as a child who has special care in justice system.
•  The ordinance is a Federal law and provides unified juvenile courts for all the provinces. There will be one set of courts through out the country run according to the Ordinance.
• The Ordinance has barred death penalty, handcuffs unless necessary, separation of juveniles from adults, exclusive jurisdiction to juvenile courts, timeframe of four months for the conclusion of trial, 
•  Offences carrying ten years punishment are made bailable for children under 15 years of age and prohibiting the publication of juvenile courts' proceeding defaming the child.
•  The Ordinance has also proscribed keeping juveniles in police station in bailable offences. This will really ameliorate the plight of children in police custody, especially the female children.
•  Many children are involved in petty offences and are poor. The Ordinance has provided for legal assistance on state expenses.

Ten year Perspective Plan and the Juvenile Justice System.

A tentative allocation of Rs. 4.947 million has been made in the Ten Year Perspective Development Plan for the Period (2001-2011) for implementation of the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000. In addition to this, another amount of Rs. 0.17 million has been allocated for identification of needs / problems with regard to implementation of the acts / Ordinances / other instruments concerning social welfare including children.

Actions Taken So Far:

• The Ordinance is to be implemented by the Provincial Governments. In this regard the Governments of the Punjab has issued initial notification for the implementation of the Ordinance. While the notifications of Government of Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan are in process.
• The provincial Governments have to prepare and notify necessary rules for effective implementation of the Ordinance. However the NCCWD initiated a process of preparing draft rules for facilitating the Provincial Governments in this task. In this regard draft rules were prepared in a National Consultation among the stakeholders from Federal, Provincial Government and Non-Governmental Organization on 19th – 20th February 2001. The Rules drafted in the two-day exercise were vetted by the Federal Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights and have subsequently been forwarded to the Provincial Governments for further necessary action.
• NCCWD, in consultation with Ministry of Law has incorporated Juvenile Justice Administration System in to their training programmes for judicial officers as a regular event. 

Specific Actions Required

• The Governments of Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan to expedite notification Ordinance.
•  Financial allocations to fulfill the requirement of the Ordinance i.e. funds for legal assistance, establishment of sufficient number of borstal and reformative institutions.
• Establishment of Special Juvenile Courts instead of delegation of powers to existing courts as they are already over burdened and could not deliver up to the expectations attached with this Ordinance.
• Training for Judicial Officers, Police and Prison officials on Juvenile Justice System to be organized.
• Massive awareness campaign about the Ordinance also be launched.