President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the First Amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act, granting leniency in punishing juveniles convicted of a crime.
The Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament on December 7, at the 28th sitting of the third session of the Parliament. The amendment bill to the Juvenile Justice Act was passed with votes from 56 parliamentarians.
The amendment brings several key changes to the Act, including jurisdiction and duties during the investigative and probatory periods for juvenile offenders. Probation Officers are required to compile and present information concerning juvenile offenders to the Juvenile Court, and relevant implementing agencies are mandated to provide their full assistance and support to Probation Officers during this process.
The Juvenile Justice Act outlines the rights of children and adolescents who conflict with the law or get immersed in violence or juvenile delinquency. The amendment bill states any sentence issued against a juvenile must be issued after considering the social and psychological reports of the child. The bill states any sentence issued against a juvenile must be one-third of the sentence allocated for the crime by law. The judge is given the authority to further reduce the sentence based on the findings of the social and psychological reports.
The bill further states Juvenile Court judges must be present at Magistrate Courts to oversee any cases which fall under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court, but have been submitted to a Magistrate Court. The bill also states any juvenile arrested in suspicion of committing a crime must be brought in front of a judge within 24 hours of the arrest to ensure the juvenile has been arrested in accordance to the law and to make a decision on remand.
The amendment further sanctions the Prosecutor General to draft legislation to follow while pressing charges against juvenile offenders.