Diversion measures and its role in avoiding juvenile stigmatization

On 03 March 2015, Kosovo Judicial Institute with the support of UNICEF conducted a training for judges and prosecutors on: “Diversion measures and its role in avoiding juvenile stigmatization”.

This training aimed to define the purpose and conditions of imposing diversion measures, evaluate appropriate measures for specific situations and identify to whom and for what offense these measures may be imposed.

During this session were treated domestic legislation, with particular emphasis on Code of Juvenile Justice, highlighting obstacles and problems in practical application of diversion measures from judges and prosecutors perspective.

At the end, trainers conducted a survey for judges and prosecutors with the purpose of identifying advantages and disadvantages of diversion measures. The outcome of the survey showed that there are more advantages than disadvantages, therefore there is need for more frequent imposition of these measures taking into consideration the principle of child highest interests.

This training was followed by discussions and debates through judges and prosecutors regarding challenges and current practices, as well as in applying respective measures.

Beneficiaries of this training were judges and prosecutors of basic and appellate levele – juvenile department.