Is the juvenile court serving retributive justice?

Abstract

This dissertation will be dealing with the question: Is the Juvenile Court serving Retributive Justice? The researcher tackles this question by answering four main research questions which deal with both retributive and restorative justice as well as the best interest of the minor under retributive and restorative justice. This dissertation is divided into 5 main chapters including an Introduction and a Conclusion. The second chapter includes the literature review and the third chapter includes the methodology used throughout this dissertation. In the Findings chapter, which is the fourth chapter, the researcher will be carrying out a comparative exercise whereby three juvenile justice systems namely the ones in Canada, Malta and Germany are compared and contrasted. Through this exercise, the researcher will help bring out the different mechanisms under each juvenile system. This will be carried out through numerous legislation such as the Juvenile Court Act (Cap.287), the Criminal Code (Cap.9), the Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act (Cap.602) as well as the Youth Justice Court Act for Canada and the Jugendgerichtsgesetz for Germany. The Analysis chapter focuses on the third and fourth research questions which question how the best interests of the minor are established under Restorative and Retributive justice. Finally, the Conclusion chapter is where the researcher answers the main question of the dissertation and provides suggestions for further research pertaining to minors and the juvenile justice system.