Intricate legal jargon in the juvenile court of varied jurisdictions across South Asia and counting the voice of a child

Abstract Participation of litigant children in juvenile court proceedings is critical for ensuring their best interest, but intimidating and confusing court proceedings make it a far cry. Being a Judge in a juvenile court of... [ view full abstract ]

Abstract
Participation of litigant children in juvenile court proceedings is critical for ensuring their best interest, but intimidating and confusing court proceedings make it a far cry. Being a Judge in a juvenile court of Bangladesh, I often feel that Probation Officer who is working for Child protective services along with caseworkers and families involved in juvenile court regularly face the scary task of understanding the court process due to acute role of court personnel, intricate legal jargon, and court’s expectation to them. As a result, litigant children fail to receive proper use of best practices of the juvenile court.

Against this backdrop, the paper argues that Probation Officer, Child Affairs police need to be more competent in taking the helm of the juvenile court process to deliver positive outcomes for affected children and families. To elaborate the debate, it will discuss the responsibilities of probation officer, caseworkers, lawyers and judges at each step of a family’s involvement with the court in Bangladesh jurisdiction. Further it will present a flow chart of juvenile court process with a view to illustrating a comparative insight on similar jurisdictions across south-Asia. Finally, the discussion will conclude with some recommendations on improving participation of a child in juvenile court and how the voice of a child can be counted in the process of litigation.