A poster complimenting the policy brief on the juvenile justice reform in Vietnam

1. Don’t They Also Have Rights?
Promoting Children’s Rights in the Juvenile Justice Reform in Vietnam
Why Promote Children’s Rights?
Singapore and Thailand: Family Conferencing
Colombia: The Criminal Justice System for
Adolescents (SRCA)
Learning from Other Countries
Vietnam’s Legal Issues Regarding
Juvenile Offenders
Policy Recommendations
• To handle the rising juvenile crime rate: The rate of juvenile
offenders is 151 per 100,000, while that of adult offenders is 100
per 100,000. The traditional criminal proceedings, which lack of
protection for children’s rights, are proven ineffective in handling
juvenile crime rate.
• To align with international standards on juvenile justice: On
January 26, 1990, Vietnam was the first country in Asia and the
second in the world to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (CRC). Vietnam is legally bound to the CRC.
• To improve the situations for the children in conflict with law:
Violation of children’s rights is common in legal practices in
Vietnam.
• There are many laws addressing children’s rights in Vietnam, but
there is no separate law on juvenile justice.
• Juvenile offenders are handled according to the Penal Code and
the Criminal Procedure Code.
• The first Family and Juvenile Court was launched in April 2016.
• Shortcomings of the juvenile justice system in Vietnam:
- Domestic laws do not comply with international standards.
- International regulations and domestic practices remain distant.
- Data on children in contact with the law are not sufficiently and
adequately collected.
- Overlapping legal documents, overlapping governmental
functions, and overlapping program designs lead to inconsistency
in practicing the laws.
Goals
• Restorative justice
• Social harmony
• Diversion from formal criminal proceedings
Strategies
• A meeting between the offenders and victims, families,
community representatives, police, judges, social workers,
etc.
Results
• A lower recidivism rate among those who went through
family conferences compared to those went to court
Lessons
Learned
• There is not a one-size-fit-all model of restorative justice
• More research is needed
• Change is needed in both philosophy and practice
Goals
• Restorative justice
• Aligning national legislation with international standards
Strategies
• Using rules of conduct, community service, and partial
confinement instead of correctional facilities
• More lenient punishments
Results
• Crime rate increased after the implementation of SRCA
• Police had less incentive to apprehend juvenile suspects
Lessons
Learned
• Change in legislation requires policies accompanied
• Reconsideration about the dichotomy of soft-on-crime and
hard-on-crime methods
Ngoc-Anh Cao caon@gse.upenn.edu
Increase research
on children in
contact with law
and the juvenile
justice system in
Vietnam
Provide quality
training on
children’s rights,
and how to
promote
children’s rights to
those who are
involved with
children in contact
with law.
Continue
revising the law
to enhance the
consistency
among legal
documents
regarding
children’s rights.
RESEARCH
LAW
REVISION
TRAINING