A Measure of Last Resort? The Current Status of Juvenile Justice in ASEAN Member States 1 Country Researchers: THE RAOUL WALLENBERG INSTITUTE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN LAW BRUNEI DARUSSALAM: is an independent academic institution, founded in 1984 Datin Paduka Hajjah Intan bte at the Faculty of Law at Lund University in Sweden. In le- Haji Mohd Kassim gal terms, the Institute is a charitable trust under Swedish private law, governed by a board of trustees. The Institute CAMBODIA: is named after the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, Aekje Teeuwen in order to pay homage to his well known humanitarian work in Hungary at the end of the Second World War. INDONESIA: Indah Amaritasari The Institute has a wide mandate, thematically as well as geographically, to promote the respect for human rights LAOS: and humanitarian law, by means of research, academic Champathong Phochanthilath education and institutional development programmes. Hosting one of the largest human rights libraries in North- MALAYSIA: ern Europe and engaged in various education, research Shelley Casey and publication activities, the Institute provides a condu- cive environment for studies and research. The Institute MYANMAR: combines academic programmes with extensive interna- Charlotte Moreau tional human rights capacity development programmes, thus providing a unique platform where theory and prac- PHILIPPINES: tice meet and interact in order to further the development Maria Lourdes Fugoso-Alcain and application of international human rights law. SINGAPORE: The Institute cooperates with a variety of Swedish and in- Kelsey Lefebvre Ekman ternational partners and belongs to different networks in Sweden and abroad. The activities of the Institute do not THAILAND: involve official reporting on State performance, monitoring Kattiya Ratanadilok of State compliance or other methods of work which could be considered confrontational in character or nature. VIETNAM: Vu Ngoc Binh All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Raoul Wallenberg Institute. 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Glossary of Abbreviations 8 Summary of Findings 9 Chapter I. Introduction 12 1. Overview 12 2. Juvenile Justice in ASEAN 13 3. Study Objectives 13 4. Methodology 14 Chapter II. The State of Juvenile Justice in Brunei Darussalam 15 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 15 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 18 2.1 Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 19 2.2 Diversion 19 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 21 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 25 2.4.1 Residential 25 2.4.2. Non-residential 26 3. Main Challenges to the System 26 4. Summary and Statistics 28 Chapter III. The State of Juvenile Justice in Cambodia 32 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 32 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 39 2.1 Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 39 2.2 Diversion 39 2.3 Adjudicating and Sentencing 40 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 42 2.4.1 Residential 42 2.4.2. Non-residential 43 3 3. Reform Initiatives 43 4. Main Challenges to the System 44 5. Summary and Statistics 50 Chapter IV. The State of Juvenile Justice in Indonesia 52 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 52 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 54 2.1 Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 54 2.2. Diversion 55 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 58 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 61 2.4.1. Residential 61 2.4.2. Non-residential 63 3. Reform Initiatives 63 4. Main Challenges to the System 64 5. Summary and Statistics 65 Chapter V. The State of Juvenile Justice in Laos 68 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 68 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 69 2.1. Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 69 2.2. Diversion 70 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 71 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 71 2.4.1 Residential 71 2.4.2 Non-residential 72 3. Reform Initiatives 72 4. Main Challenges to the System 72 5. Summary and Statistics 73 Chapter VI. The State of Juvenile Justice in Malaysia 75 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 75 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 79 2.1. Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 79 4 2.2. Diversion 81 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 82 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 83 2.4.1. Residential 83 2.4.2. Non-residential 86 3. Reform Initiatives 87 4. Main Challenges to the System 88 5. Summary and Statistics 90 Chapter VII. The State of Juvenile Justice in Myanmar 92 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 92 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 96 2.1. Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 96 2.2. Diversion 99 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 100 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 104 2.4.1. Residential 104 2.4.2. Non-residential 106 3. Reform Initiatives 107 4. Main Challenges to the System 108 5. Summary and Statistics 112 Chapter VIII. The State of Juvenile Justice in Philippines 115 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 115 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 123 2.1. Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 123 2.2. Diversion 125 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 128 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 130 2.4.1. Residential 130 2.4.2. Non-residential 132 3. Reform Initiatives 134 4. Main Challenges to the System 135 5 5. Summary and Statistics 138 Chapter IX. The State of Juvenile Justice in Singapore 143 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 143 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 145 2.1. Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 145 2.2. Diversion 146 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 149 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 151 2.4.1. Residential 151 2.4.2. Non-residential 153 3. Reform Initiatives 156 4. Main Challenges to the System 159 5. Summary and Statistics 161 Chapter X. The State of Juvenile Justice in Thailand 166 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 166 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 167 2.1. Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 167 2.2. Diversion 168 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 169 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 170 2.4.1. Residential 170 2.4.2. Non-residential 172 3. Reform Initiatives 172 4. Main Challenges to the System 178 5. Summary and Statistics 178 Chapter XI. The State of Juvenile Justice in Vietnam 181 1. Legislative Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 181 2. Institutional Framework for Juveniles in Conflict with the Law 186 2.1. Policing and Investigation of Criminal Activities 186 2.2. Diversion 186 6 2.3. Adjudicating and Sentencing 188 2.4. Treatment of Convicted Juveniles 190 2.4.1. Residential 190 2.4.2. Non-residential 191 3. Reform Initiatives 192 4. Main Challenges to the System 194 5. Summary and Statistics 198 Annex I. Juvenile Justice System in ASEAN Member States 208 ANNEX II. Juvenile Offender Procedure 209 7 Glossary of Abbreviations ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CAT The Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CAT - OPT Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment CRC The Convention on the Rights of the Child CRC – OPT - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the AC Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict CRC – OPT - Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the SC Child on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography NGO Non Governmental Organisation RWI Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humani- tarian Law UN United Nations UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 8 Summary of Findings The fear of an increasing number of juveniles in conflict with the law in member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has sparked concerns throughout the region. While this report confirms that crime is on the rise, the number of juveniles brought into formal contact with the criminal justice system remains surprisingly low: we estimate that approximately 70 000 juveniles are formally charged with a criminal offence each year in ASEAN member states. Comparatively, this number is far lower than, for example, the European Union (EU) or USA.1,2 Another main finding of the report is that the highest number of juvenile crimes reported is within the category of theft. Robbery and drug related crimes are other crimes high on the statistics. In particular Thailand reports of extreme- ly high percentages of drug related crimes (45.51%). A rough estimate of figures provided shows that around 16 000 children are deprived of their liberty within the ASEAN region. In comparison, statistics from 2012 in the European Union shows that 8700 children in 21 out of the 28 member states were detained in custodial institu- tions.3 In 2010 a staggering 70 000 juvenile offenders in USA were in residential placement facilities.4 It was outside of the scope of the study to report quantitatively on the con- ditions of juvenile residential institutions. It is, nevertheless, an undeniable fact that many still serve in prisons together with adults, and that there is much room for improvement within rehabilitation centres.