The Development of the Irish Youth Justice System: Toward a Children’s Rights Model of Youth Justice?
Author | Louise Forde,Katharina Swirak |
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862221138682 |
Published date | 01 February 2023 |
Date | 01 February 2023 |
Subject Matter | Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862221138682
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice
2023, Vol. 39(1) 114 –132
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/10439862221138682
journals.sagepub.com/home/ccj
Article
The Development of the Irish
Youth Justice System: Toward
a Children’s Rights Model of
Youth Justice?
Louise Forde1 and Katharina Swirak2
Abstract
The introduction of the Children Act 2001 signaled the beginning of a new era for Irish
youth justice although arguably represented a “late start” for Ireland in modernizing
her youth justice system. Twenty years after the Act came into force, the recently
published Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 commits to developing a youth justice
system underpinned by international children’s rights principles. In setting out this
vision, Ireland joins a number of other countries that are making efforts to develop
their youth justice systems based on international children’s rights principles. This
article considers the extent to which Ireland can be said to have moved toward
becoming a children’s rights-respecting youth justice system, with reference to
three specific areas—diversion, serious crime, and detention. As a country with a
hybrid welfare/justice approach to youth justice, and an incremental approach to
the incorporation of its international obligations under the UNCRC, Ireland’s path
toward developing more rights-compliant approaches to youth justice—and the
opportunities and barriers it has encountered—can contribute to global debates for
other countries on a similar trajectory.
Keywords
youth justice, Ireland, children’s rights, youth justice policy, diversion, sentencing,
detention
1Brunel University London, UK
2University College Cork, Ireland
Corresponding Author:
Louise Forde, Brunel Law School, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, London UB8 3PH, UK.
Email: louise.forde@brunel.ac.uk
1138682CCJXXX10.1177/10439862221138682Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeForde and Swirak
research-article2022
Forde and Swirak 115
Introduction
The introduction of the Children Act 2001 (“the 2001 Act”) into Irish law signaled the
beginning of a new era for the youth justice system in Ireland. Prior to this, the Irish
youth justice system was governed by the Children Act 1908, which predated indepen-
dence and which was influential in defining the parameters and establishing key struc-
tures of the system. While Ireland is therefore something of a “later starter” in
modernizing its youth justice system, the introduction of the 2001 Act has been said to
have inspired “an era of optimism” (Buckley, 2021). Since then, work has been under-
taken to develop progressive youth justice policies and practices in several areas. This
progressive impulse is particularly evident in the recently published Youth Justice
Strategy 2021-2027 (“the Strategy”). Setting out a roadmap for the future develop-
ment of the youth justice system, the Strategy is notable for its explicit commitment to
ensuring compliance with Ireland’s obligations under the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the articulation of a set of guiding principles which
mirror UNCRC provisions (Department of Justice [DoJ], 2021).
In adopting a set of Guiding Principles based on UNCRC standards as “a lens
through which youth justice policy is to be understood, delivered, assessed and moni-
tored” (DoJ, 2021: 4), Ireland joins several other countries that are making efforts to
develop their youth justice systems based on international children’s rights principles.
Notably, countries like New Zealand and Scotland—already known for their progres-
sive approaches to youth justice based on restorative justice and welfare principles—
are working to embed the UNCRC further into national law. New Zealand has
incorporated a duty to respect children’s UNCRC rights in its statutory framework for
youth justice (Organa Tamariki Act, s.5; Forde, 2021), while Scotland has embedded
aspects of the UNCRC into national youth justice policy and is now taking steps
toward direct incorporation of UNCRC into Scottish law (Lightowler, 2020). In pursu-
ing these goals, however, all countries face considerable challenges; youth justice
remains an area where children’s rights continue to be regularly violated internation-
ally (Liefaard, 2015; Muncie, 2005). The UNCRC, for example, has raised concerns
about the persistent use of deprivation of liberty, among other issues (UN Committee
on the Rights of the Child [UNCRC Committee], 2019).
Despite the fact that Ireland has not directly incorporated the UNCRC into national
law, the 2001 Act has laid important groundwork for the development of a rights-based
approach (Kilkelly, 2006a). The Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 is now taking this a
step further, in setting out a vision for the future development of a rights-respecting
youth justice system in Ireland. This provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress
that has been achieved and the challenges that remain. This article considers the extent
to which Ireland can be said to have moved toward becoming a children’s rights-
respecting youth justice system, with reference to three specific areas—diversion,
serious crime, and detention. As a country with a hybrid welfare/justice approach to
youth justice (Kilkelly, 2006b) and an incremental approach to the incorporation of
UNCRC obligations (Forde & Kilkelly, 2021), Ireland’s path toward the development
of a more rights-compliant approaches to youth justice—and the opportunities and
To continue reading
Request your trial