site.btaJustice Ministry Unveils Draft Juvenile Criminal Justice Act

Justice Ministry Unveils Draft Juvenile Criminal Justice Act

Sofia, October 29 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Justice Ministry presented its draft of a Juvenile Criminal Justice Act on Thursday. The purposes of the law include protecting the interests of juveniles in criminal procedure, regulating the possibilities for their rehabilitation, and protecting their rights as witnesses or victims.

Cooperation between the criminal justice system and the protection system is an essential principle in the draft. Individual treatment of each juvenile is a key element of the bill. The draft also envisages specialization of all authorities involved in the criminal justice system.

Under the bill, it will be possible to refer children at conflict with the law to an alternative method of resolving the issue, which makes it possible for a number of cases to be closed by non-judicial authorities. Investigating police officers and prosecutors will be vested with special powers to apply measures preventing the committal of the child for trial.

The draft law proposes a system of penal sanctions other than the ones existing in the Penal Code, which will equip the court with measures reducing the number of cases that lead to a custodial sentence.

The bill was drafted on a budget of 1,384,089 leva, provided by the Swiss Government, and 244,251 leva, provided by the Bulgarian Government.

Those attending Thursday's presentation included Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov, Supreme Court of Cassation President Lozan Panov, Swiss Ambassador in Sofia Denis Knobel, French Ambassador in Sofia Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes, the UNICEF Representative in Bulgaria Maria Jesus Conde, MPs, presidents of district and regional courts, magistrates and experts.