The United Nation convention on the rights of the child : are children "in conflict with law" really protected? : a case study of Republic of Albania's juvenile justice system.

This thesis aims to provide a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the implications of
the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) with regard to the administration of
juvenile justice in Albania. The central questions addressed are what overall approach does
the CRC, as the guiding framework, adopt towards children in conflict with the law; what
overall approach does Albania adopts towards children in conflict with the law; and what
does being part of the juvenile justice system mean for a young Albanian person?
Mixed methods are utilised to analyse research and provide a theoretical working basis of the
thesis. As such, a detailed legal analysis of the available literature, CRC, and other relevant
international instruments was performed in order to ascertain the international standards and
norms applied to the juvenile justice system. Examining juvenile justice in Albania involved
in-depth policy and legal analysis of domestic legislation and policy papers relating to
juvenile justice, in addition to shedding light on the policymaking process and local
implementation itself through qualitative interviews at the Ministry of Justice in Albania and
child-oriented local and international NGOs. These were combined with survey results to
provide a more rounded picture concerning both the formal aspects of the system and the
reality as experienced by those subjected to it.
The general conclusion of the thesis is that the present juvenile justice in Albania fails to
implement, in full, the articles of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UN Norms
on Juvenile Justice. No diversionary measures from the criminal justice system are available
to children in conflict with the law. The juveniles are tried at juvenile sections of courts under
the same procedure and conditions that apply to adult offenders. There is a lack of a childoriented
approach on alternative measures to deprivation of liberty, the effective
implementation of which is currently not supported by the institutional mechanisms.
Similarly, the penitentiary system dealing with children deprived of liberty, whilst violating
juvenile rights, fails to comply with juvenile reintegration and the juvenile assuming a
constructive role in society.
The study concludes by proposing a set of recommendations and actions for implementing
international standards, concerning domestic legislation and enforcement, including
awareness raising and training.