MEASURES FOR PROVIDING THE PRESENCE OF JUVENILE DEFENDANTS DURING CRIMINAL TRIALS

Abstract

With the enactment of the new Law on Justice for Children Republic of Macedonia its commitments to organize the juvenile criminal justice legislation upon the basic principles of the restorative justice has been demonstrated. The new Law on Justice for Children encompasses both substantial and procedural aspects of the restorative justice for the children - perpetrators of the crime. This new Law is successor of the previous Law on Juvenile Justice and it can be considered as an upgraded and improved version, considering the milieu of the ongoing overall criminal justice system reform in Republic of Macedonia. The author analyses the theoretical background for justification of the measures for providing the presence of the defendants during the criminal trials considering the principles of the restorative justice. Elaboration of the legal provisions and analysis of the practical implementation of these measures is also performed within this text, concluding with practical suggestions for improvement of the implementation of these measures within the criminal trials against child offenders in Republic of Macedonia.