Youth advocacy

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The youth advocate or youth prosecutor , one of Switzerland to the law enforcement agencies . She is responsible for investigating and conducting criminal proceedings against young people between the ages of ten and eighteen.

The youth advocacy is often abbreviated internally and externally as "Juga".

Legal basis

In Switzerland, criminal responsibility occurs upon completion of the 10th year of life, of age upon completion of the 18th year of life. In the event of a criminal offense by a child who is not yet 10 years old, the child protection authority (KESB) can order a child protection measure.

The basis of all activities of the youth prosecutors are the Youth Criminal Law (JStG) and the Youth Criminal Procedure Code (JStPO) and - if applicable - the Swiss Criminal Code (StGB) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) in conjunction with the Introductory Act to the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure and Youth Criminal Procedure (EG-StPO) .

The establishment of the youth advocacy office is a matter for the cantons (Art. 2, Art. 6 1c JStPO). As a result, in some cantons a single youth attorney is responsible for the entire canton, in some the youth attorney is a department of the public prosecutor's office , while in the canton of Zurich the five youth attorneys are subordinate to the senior youth attorney, with the senior youth attorney having the same rights and rights in relation to the youth attorneys Competencies are assigned to the senior public prosecutor vis-à-vis the public prosecutors

Tasks and responsibilities

The youth prosecution prosecutes and assesses the crimes of young people and has gem. Art. 21 JStPO the following tasks:

  1. She is bringing charges before the juvenile court ,
  2. can take part in the main hearing before the juvenile court and before the appellate court; she is obliged to do so if the court requests her to
  3. can appeal against judgments of the juvenile court,
  4. represents the prosecution before the appellate court and
  5. performs the tasks that cantonal law assigns to it.

In contrast to the public prosecutor's offices in proceedings against adults, it is locally responsible at the place of habitual residence of the young person. If an accused is not habitually resident in Switzerland, the youth prosecutor at the location of the offense is responsible.

During the investigation, the youth attorney is the master of the proceedings . You have extensive authority to issue instructions to the police . In contrast to the criminal prosecution of adults, neither the criminal offense authorities nor the federal prosecutor's office have the authority to prosecute juvenile crimes.

In contrast to the public prosecutor's office, the youth prosecutor's office can also order pre- trial detention for up to seven days. Only then should the court be called.

Incisive measures such as precautionary accommodation, closed observation, etc. can be ordered if indicated. In the canton of Zurich, the authority under the so-called "case Carlos" under strong media criticism came, in particular by the company RiesenOggenfuss GmbH conducted special setting .

Compulsory measures such as house searches and demonstrations are also ordered if necessary.

In contrast to adult criminal law, the youth advocate is not only the prosecution but also the enforcement authority (Art. 21 EG-StPO).

Proceedings before the youth advocate

The youth prosecutor's office takes action on the basis of a police report or a complaint to itself. It examines what exactly happened and how this is to be assessed legally.

Usually the accused is summoned to the youth attorney's office and has to comment on the alleged offense. Furthermore, the personal situation of the young person is clarified. If there are indications of the need for further care, the youth advocacy office will take precautionary measures such as B. Psychotherapy, placement outside the company or placement in an educational institution.

The procedure is usually concluded with a penalty order. If the legal sanction exceeds the criminal competence of the youth attorney or if permanent placement is indicated, the youth attorney will bring charges to the youth court.

The youth attorneys usually form an interdisciplinary team

literature

  • P. Manzoni, D. Baier, S. Eberitzsch: To deal with juvenile delinquency in Switzerland. In: Bernd Dollinger, Henning Schmidt-Semisch (Hrsg.): Handbook of juvenile crime. Interdisciplinary perspectives. Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018. ISBN 978-3-531-19952-8

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tasks of the youth prosecution public prosecutor's office in the Canton of Graubünden, website accessed on November 24, 2018
  2. ↑ Child protection measures website of the KESB in the canton of Zurich, accessed on November 24, 2018
  3. ↑ Federal Act on Juvenile Criminal Law (Youth Criminal Law, JStG) of June 20, 2003 (as of January 1, 2018)
  4. ↑ Swiss Youth Criminal Procedure Code (Jugendstraf procedureordnung, JStPO) of March 20, 2009 (as of January 1, 2015)
  5. ↑ Introductory Act to the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure and Youth Criminal Procedure (EG-StPO) of August 3, 2010, in effect since: January 1, 2011
  6. ↑ cf. Marianne Aeberhard, Christoph Urwyler: Organization and functioning of juvenile justice. Representation using the example of six cantons in German-speaking Switzerland A report as part of the research project “Clientele and Practice in Juvenile Justice”. Bern University of Applied Sciences, February 2008, p. 6 for the canton of Basel-Landschaft
  7. ↑ cf. Art. 26b Law on the Administration of Justice (RPflG) for the canton of Valais
  8. ↑ Juvenile justice website of the Canton of Zurich, Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs, accessed on November 25, 2018
  9. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger: Dossier: The Carlos case