The term juvenile will be removed from Fiji’s legal system and any child under the age of 14 years old won’t be held criminally responsible for that offence once the Child Justice Bill 2023 becomes law.
The draft Child Justice Bill, which is now under consultation by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection and the Office of the Attorney General, will repeal the Juveniles Act 1973.
The draft Child Justice Bill changes the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 years.
“Where a person charged with or alleged to have committed an offence, alleges or appears to be under the age of 18 years, that person must be treated as a child for the purposes of this Act.
“Where there is doubt as to the age of a person who appears or alleges to be under the age of 18 years, the benefit of the doubt must go to the child.” The role of the current probation officer will change to the child justice officer under the new law.
“A child justice officer is responsible for providing children with support, counselling and basic information about their rights at all stages of the process and conducting timely assessments of a child’s background and circumstances.”
A child justice officer can also provide advice and recommendations to the police, prosecutors and courts. Under the Bill, children cannot be sent to prison, but children who are sentenced to custody must be sent to an approved “rehabilitation centre” managed by the Department of Children.
