juvenile court, also called children’s court, special court handling problems of delinquent, neglected, or abused children. The juvenile court fulfills the government’s role as substitute parent, and, where no juvenile court exists, other courts must assume the function.
Two types of cases are processed by a juvenile court: civil matters, usually concerning care of an abandoned child or one whose parents cannot support him; and criminal matters arising from antisocial behaviour by the child.
Most statutes provide that all persons under a given age (18 years in many places) must be processed initially by the juvenile court, which can then, at its discretion, assign the case to an ordinary court.
The idea behind the juvenile court system is that children should be treated with special care. Its originators considered it futile and unjust to punish a child for wrongdoing, preferring rehabilitation instead. To accomplish this, the court operates informally and paternally.
The first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Chicago, and the movement spread rapidly throughout the world. Juvenile courts are now found in Europe, Latin America, Israel, Iraq, Japan, and other countries, although there is variation in structure and procedures.
There has been much disagreement, especially in the United States, over whether the juvenile court’s informality helps or hurts children. Some argue that, with crowded court calendars and incompetent judges, the court’s purpose is thwarted and that the child is stripped of the rights of criminal defendants with no corresponding relaxation in severity of treatment. In response to this, courts in the United States have extended to juveniles such rights as the right to cross-examine witnesses, the right to fair notice of hearings, the privilege against self-incrimination, and the right to legal counsel.