NCJ Number
131120
Journal
Deviance et societe Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1991) Pages: 175-186
Date Published
1991
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The article argues that the Brazilian Code of Minors of 1979 discriminates against lower-class juveniles and that a new juvenile justice code should be adopted.
Abstract
The present code gives juvenile judges almost unlimited power in dealing with minors who have committed crimes or who have no family to take care of them. Given the poverty and catastrophic family conditions of the Brazilian lower class, this code leads to the internment of many youngsters and deprives them of their constitutional rights. Under the present system, no effort is made to help the families in trouble. The new code should replace the present juvenile law and is based on the following principles: (1) protection of the welfare of juveniles as well as their families, (2) positive intervention which limits legal steps to a minimum, (3) protection of the juveniles' civil rights, and (4) proportionality and equality in the treatment of all juveniles.