LAHORE: To mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty, Juvenile Justice Advocacy Network (JJANP) called on decision-makers to implement Juvenile Justice Act 2018 in true sense to provide a separate and effective justice system for children in conflict with the law.
“The Juvenile Justice Act 2018 is supposed to provide a child friendly justice system, focusing on reintegration of juvenile offenders into society,” JJANP Convenor Barrister Sarmad Ali pointed out at a media briefing held under the umbrella of Legal Awareness Watch (LAW).
Introduced in 2018 after the Universal Periodic Review on Pakistan in 2017, the Juvenile Justice System Act mandates that children, when they get apprehended, cannot be kept in ordinary police stations nor prisons instead observation homes and rehabilitation centres.
He emphasized that the authorities concerned, without any further delay, should notify rules of business under section 24 of the Act 2018 for implementation in letter and spirit to give conductivity to children in courtroom as well as elsewhere.
The JJANP Convenor informed that a lack of adequate and effective age determination procedure led numerous children to gallows and mass incarceration that meant improvements to be made in the justice system of Pakistan.
Moreover, the investigation of criminal cases should be made fair and transparent in accordance with Criminal Code of Procedure to make sure that children in conflict with the law without any shadow of doubt are declared as juveniles and in absence of any material evidence on age of arrested child through medical evidence i.e., ossification test. It said this procedure must be adopted by the police and law enforcing agencies as warranted Section 8 of the Act 2018,” Ali stated.
“Despite the lapse of more than five years, funds for providing free legal assistance had not been allocated under juvenile justice Act 2018,” Ali regretted, demanding implementation of the JJANP charter of demands sent to all decision-making forums across Pakistan.
