THE RIGHT OF JUVENILES TO A FAIR TRIAL UNDER THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF PAKISTAN: EXAMINING THE FAIRNESS OF A JUVENILE TRIAL IN DISTRICT SHANGLA OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Abstract

This research study examines the fairness of a juvenile accused’s (JA) trial in a juvenile court (JC) in district Shangla of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The aim is to ensure the fairness of the trial proceedings in JCs in accord with the national and international standards of juvenile justice. There are widespread concerns that juveniles are not provided with the right to a fair trial in trial courts in Pakistan. The study adopts a qualitative data collection method, which involves interviews with various stakeholders of the juvenile justice system (JJS) like judges of the JCs, prosecutors, defence lawyers, police, probation officers in order to identify the areas of further improvements. Moreover, observation is also used as a research tool to assess the fairness of a murder trial proceedings in a JC. The study found that sufficient fair trial safeguards are available to a JA within the domestic legal framework of JJS of Pakistan. The study further found that sufficient fair trial safeguards are provided to the JA in murder trial observed. However, there are still some areas, where the trial proceedings fall short of the national and international standards of juvenile justice. Moreover, there is a serious issue of the implementation of the national JJS. The study recommends various recommendations to ensure the fairness juvenile trials in Pakistan in line with international best practices of juvenile justice.