Juvenile Courts in Pakistan: Structure, Processes, and Issues1

Imran Ahmad Sajid2, Amir Zada Asad3 & Uzma Ashiq4

Abstract
Juvenile justice is a matter of welfare and punishment between line departments in Pakistan. The juvenile courts operate under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance, 2000. This paper discusses the issues in the juvenile justice system as perceived by judges in Pakistan. The paper is based on qualitative methodology whereby in-depth interviews were conducted with judges of the session courts and lower courts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Further, document analysis was also conducted to draw inferences from certain cases summaries. The major issues are suppression of facts by the police, age determination, prosecution‟s poor scrutiny of the facts, and a few others. The central theme is that there is no difference between a juvenile and adult with respect to courts‟ system and structure in Pakistan.

Keywords: Juvenile Courts, Pakistan, Age Determination, Prosecution, Police