International Handbook of Juvenile Justice

This comprehensive reference work presents inside information on the Juvenile Justice-systems in 19 different countries, both in EU-member states (old and new ones) as well as in the United States and Canada. The book is the result of research conducted by a group of outstanding researchers, who are concerned about some of the trends in Juvenile Justice in the last two decades, where the border between criminal justice and Juvenile Justice tends to fade. The comparative introduction highlights similarities as well as differences between the various systems, distinguishing between clusters of countries, which appear to cluster together in their approach, as is also shown in the structure of the book. In particular, essential differences in Juvenile Justice approaches are found between the Anglo-Saxon countries and continental Europe. The former have a more formal 'justice' approach, with a strong emphasis on the juvenile's accountability, 'just desert'-principles, and retribution, while the latter are still operating with a 'welfare' philosophy, of which the German law and practice are perhaps the best example. Some special systems, such as the Scottish Hearing system and the Scandinavian model also are presented.