Juvenile Justice
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JUVENILE JUSTICE: A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE LAWS OF NEW ZEALAND AND GERMANY A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Laws in the University of Canterbury by Katja Kristina Wiese School of Law University of Canterbury 2007 DEDICATED TO MY GRANDMOTHERS, GRETA WIESE (AMI DUMBO) AND SYBILLE HEGERMANN (AMI SYBILLE) _________________________________ i _________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS ______________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................... I ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................VII GLOSSARY OF GERMAN WORDS .........................................................................X CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION.........................................................................1 CHAPTER TWO - THE RESEARCH PROCESS ..................................................12 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 12 2.2 RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................................... 13 2.3 SELECTING AND CONTACTING PARTICIPANTS .............................................. 18 2.4 THE INTERVIEWS .......................................................................................... 21 2.5 ANALYSING THE RESEARCH MATERIAL ....................................................... 26 CHAPTER THREE -JUVENILE JUSTICE MODELS...........................................32 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 32 3.2 WELFARE MODEL......................................................................................... 35 3.3 JUSTICE MODEL............................................................................................ 39 3.4 CRIME-CONTROL MODEL ............................................................................. 41 3.5 DIVERSION MODEL....................................................................................... 42 3.6 MEDIATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MODEL........................................... 47 _________________________________ ii _________________________________ CHAPTER FOUR - HISTORICAL, SOCIAL AND LEGAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW ZEALAND AND GERMANY................................................................................50 4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 50 4.2 NEW ZEALAND ............................................................................................. 51 4.2.1 History and Profile................................................................................ 51 4.2.2 Legal System and Jurisdiction.............................................................. 54 4.2.3 Demographic Characteristics................................................................ 56 4.2.4 Family Structure ................................................................................... 60 4.2.5 Juvenile Delinquency ........................................................................... 62 4.3 GERMANY ................................................................................................. 73 4.3.1 Profile ................................................................................................... 73 4.3.2 Legal System and Jurisdiction.............................................................. 74 4.3.3 Demographic Characters ...................................................................... 75 4.3.4 Family Structure ................................................................................... 80 4.3.5 Juvenile Delinquency ........................................................................... 81 4.4 SUMMARY AND COMPARISON ...................................................................... 90 CHAPTER FIVE - HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NEW ZEALAND’S AND GERMANY’S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS........92 5.1 NEW ZEALAND ............................................................................................. 92 5.1.1 The Pre-Colonial Maori Practice of Dispute Settlement...................... 92 5.1.2 Development at the End of the 19th and in the early 20th Century ....... 97 5.1.3 The Child Welfare Act 1925 and the Crimes Act 1961 ..................... 106 5.1.4 The Children and Young Persons Act 1974 ....................................... 114 5.2 GERMANY ............................................................................................... 125 5.2.1 The Penal Proceedings Regarding Children And Young Persons From the Roman Empire to the Early 20th Century........................... 125 5.2.2 The Jugendgerichtsgesetz of 1923 .................................................... 138 5.2.3 The Jugendgerichtsgesetz (RJGG) of the Third Reich of 1943 ......... 143 _________________________________ iii _________________________________ 5.2.4 The Jugendgerichtsgesetz of 1953 and the Development of the Implementation of the 1st JGG Änderungsgesetz of 1990................. 146 5.3 SUMMARY AND COMPARISON .................................................................... 152 CHAPTER SIX -THE CURRENT YOUTH JUSTICE SYSTEMS IN NEW ZEALAND AND GERMANY ...............................................159 6.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 159 6.2 THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN NEW ZEALAND .................................... 161 6.2.1 Principles of the CYPFA Guiding Exercise of Power in Relation to Offending by Young People.............................................................. 165 6.2.2 Scope of the CYPFA.......................................................................... 168 6.2.2.1 Persons to Whom the Act Applies and Age of Criminal Responsibility............................................................................ 168 6.2.2.2 Relevant Scope.......................................................................... 171 6.2.3 The Juvenile Justice Process and the Legal Consequences of an Offence Committed by a Young Person............................................ 172 6.2.3.1 Police Contact and Reaction ..................................................... 175 6.2.3.2 Youth Justice Coordinator ........................................................ 185 6.2.3.3 Family Group Conferences ....................................................... 187 6.2.3.4 Youth Court............................................................................... 218 6.2.4 Evaluation........................................................................................... 242 6.2.4.1 Introduction............................................................................... 242 6.2.4.2 Diversion................................................................................... 243 6.2.4.3 Family Group Conferences ....................................................... 247 6.2.4.4 Evaluation of Measures and Court Orders................................ 257 6.2.4.5 Further Strengths and Weaknesses of the System..................... 267 6.2.4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................ 268 _________________________________ iv _________________________________ 6.3 THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN GERMANY............................................ 269 6.3.1 Principles of the Jugendgerichtsgesetz............................................... 270 6.3.2 Scope of the JGG................................................................................ 273 6.3.2.1 Persons to Whom the Act Applies and Age of Criminal Responsibility............................................................................ 273 6.3.2.2 Relevant Scope.......................................................................... 281 6.3.3 Youth Justice Proceedings and Legal Consequences of an Offence Committed by a Young Person.......................................................... 282 6.3.3.1 Police Contact and Reaction ..................................................... 287 6.3.3.2 Staatsanwaltschaft..................................................................... 291 6.3.3.3 Jugendgerichtshilfe ................................................................... 296 6.3.3.4 Youth Court............................................................................... 298 CHAPTER SEVEN -COMPARISON, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION........................................................................328 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................355 APPENDICES..............................................................................................................390 APPENDIX A – EXAMPLE OF A FAMILY GROUP CONFERENCE PLAN................391 APPENDIX B – INTERVIEW GUIDES.............................................................393 APPENDIX C – JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT (ENGLISH TRANSLATION)..................412 ___________________________ v ___________________________ ABSTRACT ___________________________________________________________ The main objective of this thesis is to make a contribution to the controversial subject of how the German youth justice system could be reformed. In this context,