A chance for juveniles in confilct with the law
PODGORICA, MARCH 21, 2011 – After four months of the implementation of the project “Promotion of Victim/Offender Mediation for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law” participants of the discussion held in Podgorica concluded that mediation is the best way of resolving the cases involving children in conflict with a law.
President of the Supreme Court of Montenegro Ms. Vesna Medenica emphasized great importance of promotion of Victim/Offender Mediation for the rights of children in conflict with the law. She stated that children have the right to life, non-discrimination and optimal growth and development in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Beijing Rules which call for special consideration of children`s rights in all procedures that affect them. She also said that mediation provides the child with an opportunity to decide how to deal with consequences of his/her behavior and to realize how it will influence their life in a future. As a former judge for juveniles who worked in this capacity for many years Medenica strongly advocates for application of alternative ways of conflict resolution and used this opportunity to emphasize the importance of mediation not only for children in conflict with the law, but for victims and society as a whole. Deputy Minister of Justice Ms. Branka Lakocevic explained that juvenile delinquency happens due to a number of circumstances, such as inadequate parenting and poor socio-economic circumstances. Lakocevic claims that it is necessary to find special ways to conduct proceedings involving children and that it is important that those children should always be given a second chance. ’’The needs of juveniles must be taken into account during the proceedings while social response should be focused on educational measures and assistance in working on elimination of the causes of unlawful conduct and preventing of criminal acts,’’ said Lakocevic.
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