About the issue of punishment for juveniles

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the institute of criminal liability and punishment for minors under the Ukrainian legislation. Theoretical and practical features of sentencing for criminal offenses are examined and the main tendencies of sentencing at the present stage are determined. It is stated, that certain provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine on the sentencing of minors do not correspond to the worldwide practice of humanizing the punishment for juveniles. It is determined that the purpose of criminal punishment for minors is the process of education. Also, it is proved, that this goal should be confirmed in the current Penal Code. Attention is focused on the fact that the backbone of the state strategy on criminal law counteraction to juvenile delinquency should be a child-friendly system of juvenile justice. The necessity of adding new types of punishment into Penal Code of Ukraine which would be applied only for young offenders is defined. Moreover, the expediency of forming a new system of punishment for juveniles, which would take into account more sophisticated and new educational measures is proved. The peculiarities of imposing criminal punishment on minors according to the legislation of other foreign countries are clarified. It is shown that special penalties for minors, which are not connected with isolation, are provided by the criminal legislation of most European countries. Keywords: juvenile, sentencing, criminal liability, sanity, punishment, delinquency, criminal law policy, humanism, condemnation, psychological features