Juvenile justice in Lithuania - do current criminal law measures and the practice of their implementation appropriately correspond to the reasons and trends of criminal juvenile behaviour

Abstract

This article examines the issues related to the implementation of criminal liability for juveniles and the prospects of juvenile criminal justice in Lithuania. The aim of the article is to analyse and reasonably assess the current issues related to the juvenile criminal justice in Lithuania as well as to identify potential areas for improvement in this area. In order to achieve these goals, the author aims to comprehensively analyse the peculiarities and shortcomings of the legal regulation established in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, the challenges that arise in the case law of juvenile criminal cases, and the statistical data about the trends of registered and latent juvenile delinquency as well as the insights of law, criminology and other scientific disciplines on the subject matter. The analysis of the trends of juvenile crime and delinquency during the last 16 years has shown a sharp decline of registered juvenile crime cases and the fact that serious crimes committed by the juveniles are very rare. Also, it was observed that with every year they become even less widespread. However, latent juvenile delinquency rates in Lithuania during the last decade and a half have stayed almost unchanged. The analysis has also shown that, in practice, the peculiarities of juvenile criminal responsibility and the specific needs of juveniles are often not adequately considered when prosecuting them and imposing punishments or other measures, and if these peculiarities are taken into account, it is often done in a limited and incomplete manner. The conclusions are drawn that courts, applying criminal liability, should pay more attention to the principal provisions on the peculiarities of the juvenile criminal liability, and take greater attention to the specificities and needs of juvenile offenders. Moreover, courts should further restrict the use of criminal penalties and apply educational measures more often. It is also important to note that cases when Lithuanian courts implement the peculiarities of the criminal liability of juveniles to young adults, despite the scientific achievements that encourage to do so, are quite rare. Therefore, courts should evaluate the social maturity of young adults (18-21 years) and the possibility of applying the specificities of juvenile criminal responsibility more carefully. Meanwhile, the legislator should consider exempting juveniles from criminal liability in cases of serious crimes as well (i. e., when the crime, committed by a juvenile, is formally considered serious, but in reality, the crime itself and the offender do not pose a high danger). Finally, in cases of less serious or reckless offences, it should be the duty of the court and not a matter of its discretion to consider the exemption of juveniles from criminal liability.