Mediation for the benefit of the delinquent child

Abstract EN

Latest developments in Criminology, Penology and other criminal and social sciences made it obvious that the delinquent child is a victim rather than an offender, and that his organic, psychological and emotional composition is not fit to be a subject of criminal law, thus, not eligible for criminal punishment.

They were new concepts that had a beneficial effect on contemporary criminal legislation that started developing measures with a different view to juvenile offenders away from the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedures Code.

This paper is an attempt to shed light on the role of Mediation as one of those new measures developed by the Legislator for the benefit of the delinquent child.

Hence, the problematic of this study can be set as follows: What is Restorative Justice? What is Mediation? What measures to take in order to preserve the interest of the delinquent child? This paper is an attempt to shed light on the role of Mediation as a new measure developed by the Legislator for the benefit of the delinquent child.

It is based on questions and problems we raised as follows: What is Restorative Justice? What is Mediation? What measures to take in order to preserve the interest of the delinquent child? The answers are developed throughout the paper in three sections.

We adopted the analytic approach which led us to the following results: • The Algerian Legislator's position on the issue became clear, through the Law 12/15 on Child Protection.

• By applying Mediation, the Legislator strikes a balance between the interests of the victim child and the delinquent perpetrator child.