Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to describe the juvenile justice system of modern Greece and examine the extent to which the legislative initiatives of the 21st century are in conformity with the relevant main conventions and recommendations of the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations. In the first place an attempt is made to sketch the modern Greek state using some social and demographic data, and then to examine the legal background. Emphasis is put on the recent legislative enactments referring to juvenile offences and the state's reaction to them.
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Notes
- 1.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional Protocols, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Justice (the Beijing Rules), United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyad Guidelines), United Nations Rules for the Protection of Youths deprived of their Liberty, etc.
- 2.
European Convention of Human Rights, Recommendation No R (87) 20 on social reactions to juvenile delinquency, Recommendation N° R (88) 6 on social reactions to juvenile delinquency among young people coming from migrant families, Recommendation Rec (2000) 20 on the role of early psychosocial intervention in the prevention of criminality, Recommendation No R (2003) 20 concerning new ways of dealing with juvenile delinquency and the role of juvenile justice and Recommendations No R (91) 11 on sexual exploitation, pornography, prostitution of and trafficking in children and young persons, and No R (2001) on the protection of children against sexual exploitation.
- 3.
For example, in May 2001, the Council established the European Union Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN)(2001/427/JHA). The EUCPN focuses its efforts on three areas, according to Council Decision: one of them being juvenile crime. With respect to children victims of sexual exploitation see, e.g., the relevant frame-decision concerning trafficking of human beings (document 8135/02 DROIPEN 26, MIGR 35, 19 April 2002).
- 4.
The changes of the law which increased the age limits from 7–17 to 8–18 are not reflected in these statistics.
- 5.
Art. 1 of this Act provides: “The independent authority entitled ‘The Ombudsman,’ has as its mission to mediate between citizens and public services, local authorities, private and public organizations as defined in article 3, para. 1 of this Act, with the view to protecting citizens' rights, combating misadministration and ensuring respect of legality. The Ombudsman also has the mission of defending and promoting children's rights.” (Emphasis ours)
- 6.
Unpublished Statistics of the Ministry of Justice.
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Spinellis, C.D., Tsitsoura, A. (2006). The Emerging Juvenile Justice System in Greece. In: Junger-Tas, J., Decker, S.H. (eds) International Handbook of Juvenile Justice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4970-6_12
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