Interrogating Young Suspects I: Procedural Safeguards from a Legal Perspective

ISBN-13: 9781780682990 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 428 str.

Michele Panzavolta; Dorris De Vocht; Marc Van Oosterhout

Opis

The vulnerability of juvenile suspects concerns all phases of legal proceedings, but is probably greatest during interrogations in the investigation stage. These early interrogations often constitute the juvenile suspects' first contact with law enforcement authorities, during which they are confronted with many difficult questions and decisions. Therefore, at this stage, the juvenile suspect should already be provided with an adequate level of procedural protection. The research project underlying this book sprang from the observation that the existing level of procedural protection of juvenile suspects throughout the European Union is limited. More specifically, there is very little knowledge of what actually happens when juvenile suspects are being interrogated. The research project sheds more light on the existing procedural rights for juveniles during interrogations in five EU Member States representing different systems of juvenile justice (Belgium, England/Wales, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands). In doing so, it identifies legal and empirical patterns to improve the effective protection of the juvenile suspect. The book contains the results of the first part of the research project: a legal comparative study into existing legal procedural safeguards for juvenile suspects during interrogation in the five selected Member States. The country reports provide for an in-depth analysis of the existing rules and safeguards applicable during the interrogation of juvenile suspects. On the basis of these findings, a transversal analysis is carried out in the final chapter, which is dedicated to the identification of common patterns, with a view to harmonizing the systems and improving the protection of juvenile suspects' rights. (Series: Maastricht Series in Human Rights) Subject: EU Law, Comparative Law, Human Rights Law, Criminal Justice, Youth Justice]