Preface

• Author: Nicholas Bala, Sanjeev Anand
• Pages: 17-21

xvii

PREFACE

The way in which the justice system responds to young persons who

violate the crimi nal law is profoundly signif‌icant, not only for those

who are directly involved in the process but also for society as a whole.

A society’s response to young offenders conveys important messages

about its attitudes to youth and has important implications for its fu-

ture. This book is wr itten primarily for students in law schools, crim-

inology programs, and other related d isciplines, and is intended to give

them an introduction to the laws governi ng young people who come

into conf‌lict with the law. The particular focu s of the book is Canada’s

Youth Criminal Justice Act, which came into force in April 2003, and

on the amendments to the Act in Bill C-10, which came into force on

23 October 2012. The book is also intended for use by law yers, judg-

es, probation off‌icers, and other justice system professionals who are

working in this f‌ield; prior editions have been cited by the courts in

helping to interpret the Act.

The f‌ield of youth justice law is an important, controversial a rea. In

2003 there was a major reform in thi s area with the comi ng into force of

the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), which replaced the Yo un g O f fe n d-

ers Act (YOA) of 1984. The YCJA is a complex piece of legislation that

changed many of the principles and specif‌ic rules that govern youth jus-

tice is sues. Although it has a sig nif‌icantly different philosophy from that

of the YOA and m any different provisions, some sections of the old Act

have been incorporated into the YCJA. This book focuses on the YCJA and

the 2012 amendments, although some issues can best be understood by