North American Council for Juvenile Justice

North American Council for Juvenile JusticeIn North America, juvenile justice has taken major steps forward over the last few decades.

Although significant improvements have been made which provide opportunities for further developments in the future, these changes tend to differ significantly between the three main countries of the region: the USA, Mexico and Canada, since the current situation, as well as the cultural and historical contexts, are different in each of these countries.

With the establishment of the North American Council for Juvenile Justice, the IJJO not only intended to contribute to the correction of flaws of these juvenile justice systems in order to implement modern and transparent justice systems, but also aimed to provide better protection to the children of the region and to ensure that the rights of children in conflict with the law were respected.

Following the successful experience of other continental councils for juvenile justice, the North American Council brought together representatives of public administrations with competencies in juvenile justice, universities or academic centres, and non-governmental organisations with experience in the field of juvenile justice.

Its main objective was to propose coordinated actions between experts and professionals in order to draft reports, devise proposals and develop projects.