This comprehensive reference work presents an in-depth analysis on the juvenile justice systems of 19 different countries, both in EU-member states (old and new) and in the United States and Canada. The book is the result of research conducted by a group of outstanding scholars working in the field of juvenile justice. The book reflects a collective concern about trends in juvenile justice over the past two decades; trends that have begun to blur the difference between criminal and juvenile justice. The last chapter highlights similarities and differences between the various systems, identifying three clusters of countries with a similar approach to juvenile justice. In particular, differences are found between the Anglo-Saxon countries, and continental Europe. The former have a more formal "justice" approach, with a strong emphasis on the accountability of juveniles, "just desert" principles, and retribution, while the latter still operate on a "welfare" philosophy. Two special systems, the Scottish Hearing system and the Scandinavian model, are presented as well.

Preface. Foreword.PART I: THE ANGLO-SAXON ORIENTATION. 1. Punishment and Control: Juvenile Justice Reform in the United States. 2. Canada's Juvenile Justice System: Promoting Community-based Responses to Youth Crime. 3. Beyond Welfare Versus Justice: Juvenile Justice in England and Wales. 4. Mainstreaming Restorative Justice for Young Offenders through Youth Conferencing - the Experience of Northern Ireland. 5. Transition and Reform: Juvenile Justice in the Republic of Ireland. 6. Between Just Desert and Welfare: Juvenile Justice in the Netherlands.PART II: WESTERN CONTINENTAL EUROPE. 7. The French Juvenile Justice System. 8. Surviving of the Protection Model? Competing Goals in Belgian Juvenile Justice. 9. Between Tolerance and Repression: Juvenile Justice in Germany. 10. Austria: A Protection System 11. The Swiss Federal Statute on Juvenile Criminal Law. 12. The Emerging Juvenile Justice System in Greece. 13. Continuity and Change in the Spanish Juvenile Justice System.PART III: EASTERN EUROPE. 14. Continuity in the Welfare Approach - Juvenile Justice in Poland. 15. Restorative Approach and Alternative Methods: Juvenile Justice Reform in the Czech Republic. 16. Welfare versus Neo-Liberalism - Juvenile Justice in Slovenia. 17. Legal and Actual Treatment of Juveniles within the Juvenile Justice System of Bosnia and Herzegovina.PART IV: TWO SPECIAL SYSTEMS. 18. The End of an Era? - Youth Justice in Scotland. 19. Keeping the Balance between Humanism and Penal Punitiveness - Recent trends in Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice in Sweden. 20. Trends in International Juvenile Justice: what Conclusions can be drawn?