CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB BATHINDA

Department of law

Subject – law and social transformation in India

Assignment (Topic) –
Children in conflict with the Law

Submitted by: - Submitted to:-

Rahul Kumar Dr. Ramandeep singh

LLM Associate Professor of Law

1st Semester School of law and governance

20llmlaw09 Central University of Punjab, Bathinda

1|Page
Table of content

1. Children in conflict with law……………………………………………………..3

2. Fact and figures ………………………………………………………………….3
3. Types of crimes committed by children………………………………………….4
4. Human rights …………………………………………………………………….5
5. Building a protective environment for children………………………………….5
6. Open discussion………………………………………………………………….6
7. Millennium development goals………………………………………………….6
8. Example of UNICEF in action…………………………………………………..7
9. What is to be done ……………………………………………………………..7

2|Page
Children in conflict with the Law
“Child in Conflict with Law” has been defined under Section 2 (l3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care
& Protection of Children) Act, 2015 as a child who is alleged or found to have committed an
offence and has not completed eighteen years of age on the date of commission of such offence.
The term ‘children in conflict with the law’ refers to anyone under 18 who comes into contact with
the justice system as a result of being suspected or accused of committing an offence. Most
children in conflict with the law have committed petty crimes or such minor offences as vagrancy,
truancy, begging or alcohol use. Some of these are known as ‘status offences’ and are not
considered criminal when committed by adults. In addition, some children who engage in criminal
behavior have been used or coerced by adults. too often, prejudice related to race, ethnicity or
social and economic status may bring a child into conflict with the law even when no crime has
been committed, or result in harsh treatment by law enforcement officials.
In the area of juvenile justice, UNICEF aims to reduce incarceration while protecting children
from violence, abuse and exploitation. It promotes rehabilitation that involves families and
communities as a safer, more appropriate and effective approach than punitive measures. Justice
systems designed for adults often lack the capacity to adequately address these issues and are more
likely to harm than improve a child’s chances for reintegration into society. For all these reasons,
UNICEF strongly advocates diversion (directing children away from judicial proceedings and
towards community solutions), restorative justice (promoting reconciliation, restitution and
responsibility through the involvement of the child, family members, victims and communities),
and alternatives to custodial sentencing (counselling, probation and community service).

Facts and Figures

• More than 1 million children worldwide are detained by law enforcement officials.1
• In many prisons and institutions, children and young persons are often denied the right to medical
care, education and individual development.2
• In 2002, 136,000 children in the Cee/CiS region were sentenced for criminal activities, compared
to 117,000 in 1990. russia alone accounted for 65 per cent of these numbers.3

1
defence for Children international, ‘no Kids Behind Bars: A global campaign on justice for children in conflict with
the law’, < www.kidsbehindbars.org >.
2
defence for Children international, Kids Behind Bars: A study on children in conflict with the law: towards
investing in prevention, stopping incarceration and meeting international standards, Amsterdam, 2003, p. 22.
3
United nations Children’s Fund, ‘Child Protection: A resource package for Central and eastern europe and the
Commonwealth of independent States’, available at <http:// ceecis.org/child_protection>.

3|Page
Types of Crimes Committed by children
Various types of offences committed by children in conflict with law have been defined under the
JJ Act, 2015 as follows:

Petty offences: Petty offences include the offences for which the maximum punishment under the
Indian Penal Code or any other law for the time being in force is imprisonment up to three years.
Serious Offences: Serious offences include the offences for which the punishment under the
Indian Penal Code or any other law for the time being in force is imprisonment between three to
seven years.
Heinous Offences: Heinous offences committed by children in conflict with law include the
offences for which the minimum punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law for the
time being in force is imprisonment for seven years or more.
Delinquency exhibits a variety of styles of conduct or forms of behavior. Each of the patterns has
its own social context, the causes that are alleged to bring it about, and the forms of prevention or
treatment most often suggested as appropriate for the pattern in question.
Howard Becker (1966: 226 - 38) has referred to four types of delinquencies:

Individual delinquency
Group-supported delinquency
Organized delinquency
Situational delinquency

Individual delinquency
This refers to delinquency in which only one individual is involved in committing a delinquent act
and its cause is located within the individual delinquent. Most of the explanations of this delinquent
behavior come from psychiatrists. Their argument is that delinquency is cause d by psychological
problems that primarily stem from defective/faulty/pathological family interaction patterns.

Group - supported delinquency

In this type, delinquencies are committed in companionship with others and the cause is located
not in the personality of the individual or in the delinquent's family but in the culture of the
individual's home and neighbourhood. The studies of Thrasher and Shaw and McKay talk of this
type of delinquency. Research findings suggest that most young children who became delinquent

4|Page
was because of their association and companionship with others who were already delinquent.
Unlike the psychogenic explanations, this set of ideas focuses on what is learnt and who it is learnt
from rather than on the problems that might produce motivation to commit delinquencies.

Organized delinquency
This type refers to delinquencies that are committed by formally organized groups. These
delinquencies were analysed in the United States in the 1950s and the concept of "delinquent sub
- culture” was developed. This concept refers to the set of values and norms that guide the behavior
of group members to encourage the commission of delinquencies, award status on the basis of such
acts and specify typical relationships to persons who fail outside the groupings governed by group
norms.

Situational delinquency
The above - mentioned three types of delinquencies have one thing in common. In all of them,
delinquency is viewed as having deep roots. In individual delinquency (according to the
psychogenic explanation), the roots of delinquency lie primarily within the individual. In group -
supported and organized delinquencies (the sociogenic explanation), the roots (of delinquency) lie
in the structure of the society with emphasis either on the ecological areas where delinquency
prevails or on the systematic way in which social structure places some individuals in a poor
position to compete for success.

Human rights
According to Articles 37 and 40 of the convention on the rights of the child (1989), children in
conflict with the law have the right to treatment that promotes their sense of dignity and worth,
takes into account their age and aims at their reintegration into society. Also, placing children in
conflict with the law in a closed facility should be a measure of last resort, to be avoided whenever
possible. The convention prohibits the imposition of the death penalty and sentences of life
imprisonment for offences committed by persons under the age of 18.

Building a protective environment for children

Government commitment and capacity these are crucial to promote and support policies that
encourage the use of alternatives to deprivation of liberty. A proper approach to juvenile justice
also requires that efforts be made to prevent children from coming into conflict with the law in the
first place. This is work for the entire society, not just the government.
Legislation and enforcement national laws should be revised to conform to international standards,
with legislation enacted and enforced to prevent children from being deprived of their liberty when

5|Page
they have been victims of abuse and exploitation, were used by adults for criminal activities or
have committed status offences or petty crimes. The death penalty for children should be
abolished. Attitudes, customs and practices Children in conflict with the law may be portrayed as
‘wicked’ or threatening, and presumptions of character need to be challenged. The establishment
of appropriate juvenile justice mechanisms can be difficult if public opinion favours tougher
responses and harsher sentences.

Open discussion
The media can promote appropriate approaches to children in conflict with the law, including
probation and community service. Objective and responsible reporting of crimes committed by
children – and the abuses they face in contact with the law – can increase public support for
juvenile justice.

Children’s life skills, knowledge and participation Children who come in conflict with the law
need to be informed about their rights. Preventive measures can improve children’s understanding
of their responsibilities under the law and help them avoid conflict.
Capacity of families and communities Capacities need to be strengthened to enable community
involvement in the process of restorative justice. law enforcement officials should be familiar with
constructive approaches that make it possible to avoid formal arrest and detention of children in
conflict with the law. Capacity and knowledge of juvenile judges, magistrates, social workers and
police need to be strengthened and increased in the area of juvenile justice.
Essential services, including for prevention, recovery and reintegration
Services should be in place offering community based and family-focused assistance so that
children can achieve rehabilitation and avoid repeat offences.
Monitoring, reporting and oversight these are needed to determine the number of children in
detention, the proportion of those awaiting trial and trends in sentencing. Monitoring can ensure
that detention is neither illegal nor arbitrary, that children have access to all basic social services,
and that they are not detained alongside adult prisoners and exposed to violence and abuse.

Millennium development goals:

Legal systems that ignore the child’s age and fail to promote reintegration into the community
increase the likelihood of their marginalization and poverty – thus impeding the achievement of
MdG 1 to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Achieving universal primary education (MdG 2)
is hindered as children in detention are often denied quality education. due to the high rates of
transmission in prisons, children are vulnerable to hive infection, obstructing efforts to combat
AidS (MdG 6).

6|Page
Examples OF UNICEF in action
At the global level, UNICEF is a member of the inter-Agency Panel on Juvenile Justice, which
aims to enhance national and global coordination in juvenile justice including by promoting
ongoing dialogue with national partners in juvenile justice reform and identifying, developing and
disseminating common tools and good practices.
in the republic of Moldova, UNICEF supported the government in developing the new Criminal
law and the Criminal Procedure Code which provides for improved juvenile justice and brings
local legislation in line with the standards of the Convention on the rights of the Child.
in Panama, UNICEF provided journalists with data on children in conflict with the law in order to
help dispel myths and exaggerations of adolescent crime. UNICEF also facilitated training courses
on the Convention on the rights of the Child which built capacity among journalists to report on
the rights of children in conflict with the law.

What is to be done
Parents, teachers, schools, community and law enforcement agencies need to understand, prevent
and reduce risk factors which may push children towards adopting behaviors that may harm them
and the wider society and are defined as being in conflict with law. There is enough evidence to
prove that with the right kind of prevention and rehabilitation most children adjust, reform, and
return to the maturity of adulthood.

Thus, it becomes important to identify risk factors, i.e. factors whose presence and early exposure
enhances the likelihood of engaging in delinquency and other behavior problems (Reingle,
Jennings, and Maldonado - Molina 2012; Mari, Blum, and Teufel - Shone 2010). Protective factors
are those which mitigate the influence of risk factors. In recent years, studies of juvenile
delinquency and justice system have increasingly examined the impact of these strengths
(protective factors) on youth's ability to overcome challenges and thrive. Generally, protective
factors - such as positive school attendance, positive social orientation or the ability to discuss
problems with parents - are a buffer to minimize or moderate the effect of risk factors and their
ability to bring about delinquent behavior.

7|Page