Restorative Juvenile Justice System in Pakistan: An Overview

Sardar Ali Shah

Institute of Law, University of Sindh, Pakistan

Usharani Balasingam, Nadhratul Wardah Salman, Saroja Dhanapal, Khalid M. S. Ansari.

Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, Kaula lumpur Malaysia

Abstract:

Restorative justice is a process which focuses on helping parties involved in an offence to collectively resolve the issue to ensure that its aftermath results in a better outcome for everyone concerned. In essence, it is a wide concept akin to the Jirga system of the Pukhtoon culture or of the Panchayat in the Punjab or the Sulh in the Arab world. These concepts may sound different but they are common in their focus on the relationships between victims, offenders and the community. As a result of the positive outcomes of the restorative justice system, nations around the world are shifting from purely punitive justice systems to one which is more restorative in nature. In view of this, Pakistan too had introduced the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance Act, 2000 which has been recently repealed and replaced by the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018. The objective of this doctrinal research is to critically analyse these laws and discuss to what extent Pakistan has adopted a restorative juvenile justice system.

Keyword:

Restorative Justice, Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000, Juvenile Justice System Act 2018, Retribute Justice