detention of the offenders in community residences instead of prisons,203 the separation of
juvenile offenders from adult prisoners204 and the review of sentences upon attaining the age of
eighteen,205 Part 5 of the Children Bill also explicitly prohibits the imposition of the death
sentence on persons under eighteen206 and sets out the procedure for the establishment and
operation of a juvenile court.207
These measures if adopted by Trinidad and Tobago will ensure greater compliance with Articles
37 and 40 of the CRC, and they will ensure a higher standard of protection of the rights of
juvenile offenders. The Children Bill 2012, however remains lex ferenda and until proclaimed
does nothing to protect the rights of juvenile offenders.
CONCLUSION
The degree of human rights protection offered to juvenile offenders by the criminal justice
system of Trinidad and Tobago is inadequate. It falls short of the standard required by the
Convention on the Rights of the Child,208 and juvenile offenders do not have all of their rights
respected. The age of criminal responsibility falls below the international standard, and
legislation must be enacted in order for it to be raised to an age that is in conformity with
internationally recognized standards. Detention centers for before, during and after trial must be
updated, to ensure that juvenile offenders are treated in a manner which is cognizant of their age
and vulnerability and ensures that they are free from the corrupting influence of adult prisoners.
There is also the need for the enactment of legislation which creates a wider variety of
sentencing options and which ensures that life imprisonment and capital punishment may never
be imposed on juvenile offenders.
203
Supra fn 90 at s60
Supra fn 90 at s53
205
Supra fn 90 at s59
206
Supra fn 90 at s75
207
Supra fn 90 at s81
208
Supra fn 1
204
103