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Juvenile Justice in Namibia: Law Reform Towards Reconciliation and Restorative Justice.
Namibia is in the process of creating a juvenile justice system that will be more responsive to the needs of children in conflict with the law and more in line with international standards. To this end, the Child Justice Bill was drafted in 2003, reflecting the ideas of ubuntu, an African understanding that an individual’s humanity is wrapped up in the dignity and humanity of others. Currently, the Bill is being modified by the Ministry of Justice and is scheduled to be presented to in Parliament this year. Marthinus Hamutenya of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Child Justice in Namibia analyzes the bill.
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Marthinus Hamutenya of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Child
Justice in Namibia and Stefan Schulz of Polytechnic of Namibia analyze
the bill. Below is the summary of the article highlighting some of
its key aspects. A PDF of the full article
is also available.
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The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern about
Namibia's juvenile justice system in 1994. After that, Namibia
started an Inter Ministerial Committee on Juvenile Justice (IMC).
The IMC has worked with civil society and nongovernmental groups to
change the juvenile justice system in order to reduce delinquency.
In 2003, a draft Juvenile Justice Bill was prepared for potential
presentation to the National Assembly.
The Bill contains legal provisions that reform the present system
based on principles of 'peacemaking' and 'reconciliation'. It
revives a presumption that a child under ten years of age cannot legally
be prosecuted for an offense. Police are to use cautioning
methods, and only arrest if necessary to prevent continued
offending. In custody, children must be kept separate from adult
detainees and those of the opposite sex. Diversion procedures are
given a stronger role than in the previous system. The Bill also
calls for specialized Child Justice Courts, with personnel specifically
trained for youth matters. The sentencing provisions emphasize
accountability and reparation for the harm caused, individualized
responses, and successful reintegration to family and community, with
avoidance of detention in most cases.
The Child Justice Bill represents a paradigm shift for Namibia in its
approach to young offenders. The Bill make provisions for
restorative programs such as Life Skills Programs, Community Service,
Victim Offender Mediation, and Family Group Conferences.
Admittedly, the diversion methods remain under the Prosecutor General's
discretion. However, even for convicted youth offenders, the
sentencing requirements emphasize restorative values of responsibility
and reintegration.
The in-depth analysis is available in PDF.
June 2004
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