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The Role of Public Opinion in the Implementation of International Juvenile Justice Standards

The Role of Public Opinion in the Implementation of International Juvenile Justice Standards The Role of Public Opinion in the Implementation of International Juvenile Justice Standards* CAROLYN HAMILTON and RACHEL HARVEY Children’s Legal Centre, University of Essex Implementation of the juvenile justice articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires political commitment to reform from States. It will also require, for many States, a radical change of law, policy and practice. It is clear from available research, however, that there has been little political or public enthusiasm for reform to implement the rights of children in con ict with the law (Abramson, 2000). Political will does not, of course, exist in a vacuum. Democratic govern- ments must take into account political and public pressures and available resources. Democratically elected governments must also obtain, and then retain, the support of the majority of the electorate. On the whole, public sup- port for change to the administration of juvenile justice has been low. Indeed, it can be argued that public opinion is generally against the implementation of reforms that are seen as “soft” on juvenile offenders. The lack of support from the public for implementation of the juvenile jus- tice provisions of the Convention poses a fundamental problem for http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The International Journal of Children's Rights Brill

The Role of Public Opinion in the Implementation of International Juvenile Justice Standards

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2004 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0927-5568
eISSN
1571-8182
DOI
10.1163/157181804322985178
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The Role of Public Opinion in the Implementation of International Juvenile Justice Standards* CAROLYN HAMILTON and RACHEL HARVEY Children’s Legal Centre, University of Essex Implementation of the juvenile justice articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires political commitment to reform from States. It will also require, for many States, a radical change of law, policy and practice. It is clear from available research, however, that there has been little political or public enthusiasm for reform to implement the rights of children in con ict with the law (Abramson, 2000). Political will does not, of course, exist in a vacuum. Democratic govern- ments must take into account political and public pressures and available resources. Democratically elected governments must also obtain, and then retain, the support of the majority of the electorate. On the whole, public sup- port for change to the administration of juvenile justice has been low. Indeed, it can be argued that public opinion is generally against the implementation of reforms that are seen as “soft” on juvenile offenders. The lack of support from the public for implementation of the juvenile jus- tice provisions of the Convention poses a fundamental problem for

Journal

The International Journal of Children's Rights – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2004

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