Document 61 - Amendment to the Act on Juvenile Justice

The law responds to a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights and introduces a mandatory regular judicial review of the detention of juveniles prosecuted for particularly serious offences, at least once every three months, as is the case for adults.

The aim is to eliminate the existing discriminatory differences in the treatment of juveniles in detention and to strengthen the protection of their right to personal liberty, including clearer rules for extending detention and for judicial decision-making.

At the same time, the law emphasises that, in the case of children and juveniles, priority should be given to resolving the matter otherwise than through formal judicial proceedings, where possible and appropriate, and strengthens the use of alternatives to detention.

The law also amends technical and procedural rules on detention (the calculation of its duration, concurrent court decisions, immediate release upon expiry of the time limit) so that the legal framework is not more stringent than that applicable to adult defendants.