Daily Times

LAHORE: Punjab government must take immediate legislative and administrative measures for efficient implementation of Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO) 2000, without further delay, demanded Sanjog, a non-governmental organisation, during a Press Conference at Lahore Press Club (LPC) on Wednesday.

Sanjog Senior Project Officer Tayyba Javaid said, “The NGO appreciates the steps taken for better protection of the rights of children in conflict with law, which were reflected in the recent legislative amendment about increasing the minimum age for criminal responsibility to 10 years. Sanjog appreciates that the federal government is considering a new legislation on JJS in order to safeguard the children in conflict with law. Effective implementation of JJSO 2000 and related laws can reduce the number of children in prisons.”

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Legal Consultant Mahboob Ahmad Khan on the occasion said under Section 4 of JJSO 2000, the provincial government has to establish exclusive juvenile courts for the trial of children in conflict with law. However, he added, no juvenile court has been established till date by any provincial government.

“High Court has conferred powers of juvenile courts on different grades of ordinary courts but that is not effective,” he said, adding that currently, more than 85 percent of the juveniles were under trial of which most were in detention for more than six months.

Lahore High Court Advocate Yasmeen Rizwan emphasised that Article 5 of the JJSO 2000, prohibits the joint trial of children and adults. “When juveniles are tried by special terrorist courts, the procedures do not fully comply with internationally agreed fair trial standards,” the lawyer asserted.

Punjab Child Rights Movement Executive Committee member Nazir Ahmad Ghazi on the occasion asked for free legal aid. Under JJSO, he said, every child accused or victim of an offence has a right to legal assistance at the expense of the state. The Punjab government should immediately form a panel of lawyers to provide legal assistance to children at the expense of provincial government, he added.

Ghazi said the most significant aspect of this law was releasing of the child on probation. JJSO 2000 provided an atmosphere alternative to prison, as family and community were the essentials for personality development of a child, he added.

Sanjog Liaison Officer Nabila Feroz Bhatti said that most provisions of the JJSO 2000 were partially implemented at best, adding that JJSO has not been extended to large areas of the country where children were tried under laws that entirely ignored the specific rights and needs of children. “Sanjog demands the full implementation of Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000, to provide justice to juveniles in Punjab,” she concluded.