THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS

The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 establishes a criminal justice system for child accused, separate from the criminal justice system which continues to apply for adult accused in South Africa. The Act aims to keep children out of detention and away from the formal criminal justice system, mainly thr...

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Main Author: Stephan Terblanche
Format: Article
Language:Afrikaans
Published: North-West University 2012-12-01
Series:Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.nwu.ac.za/af/webfm_send/60635
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author Stephan Terblanche
author_facet Stephan Terblanche
author_sort Stephan Terblanche
collection DOAJ
description The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 establishes a criminal justice system for child accused, separate from the criminal justice system which continues to apply for adult accused in South Africa. The Act aims to keep children out of detention and away from the formal criminal justice system, mainly through diversion. When these interventions would be inadequate or unsuccessful, the Act provides for child offenders to the tried and sentenced in child justice courts. Until now there has been little discussion of the details of the provisions dealing with sentencing.Sentencing in a child justice court is regulated by chapter 10 of the Act and section 68 is the first section in this chapter. This section effectively amounts to the “jurisdictional” provision of the new child sentencing system: it not only mandates child justice courts to impose their sentences in terms of the Act, but also provides the first set of boundaries (or the first part of the framework) within which sentencing should take place. Despite its brevity, section 68 is not without interpretative challenges. Of course, it has to be interpreted within the context of the entire Act. Explaining this context is the first function of this article. The various aspects of section 68 are further critically explored and discussed.
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spelling doaj.art-00f855b2e2ee41c3a07fb8aa85092b2c2022-12-22T00:10:40ZafrNorth-West UniversityPotchefstroom Electronic Law Journal1727-37812012-12-01155435475THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERSStephan TerblancheThe Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 establishes a criminal justice system for child accused, separate from the criminal justice system which continues to apply for adult accused in South Africa. The Act aims to keep children out of detention and away from the formal criminal justice system, mainly through diversion. When these interventions would be inadequate or unsuccessful, the Act provides for child offenders to the tried and sentenced in child justice courts. Until now there has been little discussion of the details of the provisions dealing with sentencing.Sentencing in a child justice court is regulated by chapter 10 of the Act and section 68 is the first section in this chapter. This section effectively amounts to the “jurisdictional” provision of the new child sentencing system: it not only mandates child justice courts to impose their sentences in terms of the Act, but also provides the first set of boundaries (or the first part of the framework) within which sentencing should take place. Despite its brevity, section 68 is not without interpretative challenges. Of course, it has to be interpreted within the context of the entire Act. Explaining this context is the first function of this article. The various aspects of section 68 are further critically explored and discussed.http://www.nwu.ac.za/af/webfm_send/60635Child Justice Actyoung offenderssentencing of childrensentencing of young offenderschild justice court
spellingShingle Stephan Terblanche
THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS
Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal
Child Justice Act
young offenders
sentencing of children
sentencing of young offenders
child justice court
title THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS
title_full THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS
title_fullStr THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS
title_full_unstemmed THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS
title_short THE CHILD JUSTICE ACT: A DETAILED CONSIDERATION OF SECTION 68 AS POINT OF DEPARTURE WITH RESPECT TO THE SENTENCING OF YOUNG OFFENDERS
title_sort child justice act a detailed consideration of section 68 as point of departure with respect to the sentencing of young offenders
topic Child Justice Act
young offenders
sentencing of children
sentencing of young offenders
child justice court
url http://www.nwu.ac.za/af/webfm_send/60635
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