The Government of Pakistan promulgated the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000

Lahore: The Government of Pakistan promulgated the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 (JJSO) that provides protection to children involved in criminal litigation.

The most significant aspect of this law was the establishment of separate juvenile courts for the trial of the cases of children in conflict with law.

To highlight this issue a conference  was held in Lahore by Sanjog, Pakistan in which after deliberations on “Gaps in Implementation of Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000” the participants of the Conference, involving all important stakeholders, hereby acknowledged the fact that protection of the rights of most vulnerable groups of society does not merely test the strength of a justice system but such a protective legislation and implementation mechanism also strengthens the justice systems at large.

The speakers Mr. Justice ® Ch. Shahid Saeed, Director General Punjab Judicial Academy, Iftikhar Mubarak, Childs Rights Movement, Shehram Toqeer, Superintendent, District Jail Lahore, Arshad Mahmood, Director General Probation and Reclamation, Nawaz Ahmed, Advocate, Ms. Mamoona Tahir, Advocacy officer, Sanjog and Ms. Nabeela Feroz Bhatti addressed the participants and shared that  the need of the time is to uphold the primacy of inviolable fundamental rights of every Pakistani, enunciated in the Constitution of Pakistan and the International guidelines, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The speakers of the conference reaffirmed and appreciated the steps taken for better protection of the rights of the children in conflict with law, reflected in the recent legislative amendment passed by the Parliament of Pakistan about raising minimum age for criminal responsibility to 10 years and the steps of  Federal government for a new legislation on Juvenile Justice System in order to harmonize the existing legislation and to introduce new safeguards and protections for the children in conflict with law.

They emphasized that the provincial governments should take rapid steps for  further adaptation/ regulations to make the federal legislation operational, a task that demanded vigilant and proactive response.The all stake holders including Judiciary,Bar,Probation,Prison,Police and civil society reiterated their  commitment and responsibility to implement the existing safeguards in the law to protect the children in conflict with law till further developments.

They concluded  that effective implementation of the JJSO and other related laws could be an effective tool in reducing the number of children in prisons and establishment of exclusive Juvenile Courts would be helpful to speed up the process of Juvenile’s cases. concluded that effective implementation of the JJSO and other related laws could be an effective tool in reducing the number of children in prisons and establishment of exclusive Juvenile Courts would be helpful to speed up the process of Juvenile’s cases.