Preface

• Author: Brock Jones/Sarah Leece/Mary Birdsell/Emma Rhodes
• Pages: 27-29

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Preface

The youth criminal justice system in Canada is designed to be separate and distinct

from the adult criminal justice system. It seeks to address the special considerations

that arise in the context of youthful oending. This book examines how and why young

persons are dealt with in the criminal justice system throughout the entire life of a

criminal case. It begins with the decision of a police ocer to lay a charge and concludes

with the potential aftermath of either a finding of guilt or an acquittal. It will encompass

not only the statutory provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act,7 but also how our

courts have interpreted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms8 with respect to

young persons and related but important areas of law that commonly arise in youth

criminal cases.

On a practical level, this book will assist readers in understanding the common

procedural and substantive areas that surround youth criminal justice cases. It will

address:

• ethical considerations for lawyers when representing children and youth, and

for Crown prosecutors when exercising their discretion in youth justice cases;

• how to receive and act on instructions from a young person and/or their parents

or guardians;

• how to interact with and receive information from a young person’s parents or

guardians;

• the YCJA’s preamble, governing philosophy, and principles and how they can

be properly applied to assist both Crown and defence counsel in youth court;

• how the YCJA interacts with the Criminal Code;9

• Canada’s international law commitments and the role they can play in influencing

youth justice courts;

• the jurisdiction of the youth justice court;

• proper procedures when dealing with the arrest, questioning, and detention of

young persons;

7 SC 2002, c 1 [YCJA].

8 Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11

[the Charter].

9 RSC 1985, c C-46.

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