Preface

• Author: Nicholas Bala
• Profession: Professor of Law Queen's University
• Pages: 17-20

Preface

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

violate the criminal 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 significant implications for its

future. This book is intended to give lawyers, judges, probation offi-

cers, and other justice system professionals an introduction to the law

governing young people who come into conflict with the law, with a

particular focus on Canada’s new Youth Criminal Justice Act. The book

is also written for students in law schools, criminology programs, and

other related disciplines.

The field of youth justice law is an important, controversial area

that is undergoing major reform with the enactment of the new Youth

Criminal Justice Act, which is to come into force on 1 April 2003,

replacing the Young Offenders Act of 1984. The new statute is a complex

piece of legislation that changes many of the principles and specific

rules that govern youth justice issues. Although the new Act has a sig-

nificantly different philosophy from that of the Young Offenders Act and

many different provisions, some portions of the old Act have been

incorporated into the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

This book focuses on the new Act, although many issues can best

be understood by considering how the former statute was applied and

interpreted. In significant measure the new Act is a response to some

of the failings of the old one, and the Youth Criminal Justice Act can best

be understood as a response to problems that arose under the Young

Offenders Act.

While the primary focus of this book is on the legal issues that arise

in the youth justice system, the book is premised on the belief that

youth justice issues must be understood in a broader context. This

book includes some discussion of constitutional, evidentiary, and pro-

cedural issues that are relevant to youth justice, and explores some of

the ethical and practical issues that confront lawyers and other profes-

sionals working in the youth justice system. The book also considers

xvii