The work report that the Supreme People's Court President Xiao
Yang delivered during the recent National People's Congress session
brought wide attention to the mushrooming of juvenile crime. In the
past year, China dealt with 70,086 underage criminals, representing
a 19.1 percent year-on-year increase.
China is now mulling a pilot program to better protect its
teenagers. Under the program, selected medium-size and large cities
would set up independent juvenile courts of justice, which will be
more advanced and comprehensive than the present juvenile
tribunals.
According to Shen Deyong, vice president of the Supreme People's
Court, juvenile crime has been steadily rising in recent years. The
age groups involved are also younger, while the violence involved
and sophistication of the crimes committed are increasing.
In 1984 the first juvenile tribunal was set up in Shanghai by
the Changning District People's Court to deal specially with
teenage crimes. Now there are more than 2,400 juvenile tribunals
nationwide, and more than 7,200 justices dealing with almost all
juvenile crimes.
Since 2004 selected areas have been testing a community
correction mechanism that aims at diverting and rehabilitating
potential young criminals.
Shen believes that some of the terms and articles concerning
judicial protection of juveniles are difficult to implement because
of inadequate laws. A comprehensive, systematic mechanism must be
created.
'The goal of promoting the judicial mechanism for juvenile
protection is best served if we can formulate practicable and
comprehensive laws. Furthermore, a coordinated and highly efficient
mechanism should be developed to incorporate various parties,
including the government, judicature, social organizations,
communities, schools and families into this effort," Shen
emphasized.
Some juvenile tribunals have begun to deal tentatively with
civil and administrative cases involving underage parties. This
will better safeguard the civil rights of teenagers.
Reportedly, amendments to the Law for the Protection of Minors
-- originally formulated in 1991 -- have been included in the
legislative agenda of the Standing Committee of the National
People's Congress, the country's top legislature. Additionally, a
judicial interpretation concerning the handling of juvenile
criminal cases is being drafted by the Supreme People's Court and
is expected to come out this year.
(China.org.cn by Wind Gu, March 18, 2005)