A Critical View on the Sri Lankan Juvenile Legislation Rehabilitation and Re-integration Procedures Available towards Juvenile Delinquents

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the available national laws relating to juvenile delinquency, to discuss the contributory factors for the occurrence of juvenile delinquency in Sri Lanka, to discuss the rehabilitation procedures followed, to get insights of the reintegration procedure followed for juvenile delinquents and to analyze the drawbacks in the existing correctional system. Furthermore, the researcher proposes recommendations towards filling the loopholes of the present system of juvenile legislation, rehabilitation procedures and correctional methods available. The researcher has realized that, rehabilitation procedures undertaken for juvenile delinquents with the involvement of the correctional institutions and reintegration processes undertaken to settle them within the society are two mutually existing yet controversial issues persisting in Sri Lanka in a grave manner. Moreover, escalating the occurrence of juvenile delinquency rates and its reconvicted rates demonstrate distinctively that the existing policies and methods with regards to the aforesaid two procedures are lacking and persisting with many loopholes where the juvenile infringers get away from being actually rehabilitated or rather integrated with the society. Furthermore, this research aims towards enlightening the future legal researchers that both rehabilitation and re-integration procedures and techniques are much needed to be implemented and such practical challenges may affect the goodwill towards such juvenile infringers and unless it would be challenging towards mitigating the reconvicted rates. Since children are the greatest asset to any nation’s future, juvenile delinquency is a sensitive legal issue which should be handled with much deliberateness.