In setting the scene, there are some facts concerning the Norwegian legal system that have to

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1 Oslo City court is the largest court in Norway. 20 % of all the judges in Norway are attached to this court. Therefore this court handles a large number of criminal cases, and some of these cases concern children under the age of 18. In setting the scene, there are some facts concerning the Norwegian legal system that have to be pointed out: In Norway the age of criminal responsibility is 15 years. Therefore these cases only concern children from 15 to 17 year. This make some of the dilemmas, I ll come back to in a minute, a bit easier to handle, both because it makes the number of cases less and because criminal cases concerning children do no involve very small children. This is different from some other countries where the age of criminal responsibility is lower. In Norway there are no special courts handling cases concerning children. There are no Youth courts. Criminal cases concerning children under the age of 18 are dealt with in the same courts and by the same judges as ordinary criminal cases. The criminal proceedings are the same, but of course there are some special provisions giving special treatment to children in the criminal system, both concerning the criminal procedure and the sanctions. This system implies that these cases are held before a large number of courts and before a large number of judges. Each judge does not handle a large number of cases concerning young criminals. I also like to point out that in Norway, as well as in the other Nordic countries, there is a system for children social welfare. This system also handle cases were the children have criminal problems, often in combination with other problems such as parents failing to give their children good care and treatment. This system might result in fewer criminal cases for the courts where children under the age of 18 are involved.

2 On the other hand, when these cases do come before court, the situation might have developed in a way that the criminality has increased and that it takes a longer time before there is a serious reaction to the criminal behaviour. Cases concerning high-risk offenders under the age of 18 do very often raise the question of imprisonment of these children. First of all: A Norwegian judge does not like to send young criminals into jail. Speaking on behalf of these judges I would say that the court seeks to find good alternatives to imprisonment in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. But that is not always possible, and I will now point out some of the dilemmas concerning children and imprisonment. From a judge s point of view there are always dilemmas concerning criminal case where the offender is under the age of 18. But the dilemmas increase when the cases get more serious and when the question of imprisonment pops up. We can divide these types of criminal cases into two main categories. It is cases only concerning detention in custody, and normal criminal cases were the judge has to make a verdict and find a suitable sentence. This punishment may be imprisonment for a long or a short period or imprisonment in accordance with other reactions. Detention in custody Cases concerning detention come to the court only an hour before the court meeting. The judge in these cases has to decide whether the conditions for detention in custody are fulfilled

3 or not and if there are other alternatives to imprisonment. When such cases come before the court, the police and the children social welfare system often have searched to find alternatives to detention in custody. Therefore when the judge finds that the conditions for detention in custody are fulfilled, detention in custody is often the only possible means that are given. The judge knows that the child will continue it s criminal activities or that the case might be difficult to investigate if the childe is not detained. If these concerns are sufficient, detention in custody normally has to be the result. Like adults the child will have a lawyer represented in the court meeting and for as long time as the detention lasts. This makes it a bit easier for the judge to decide that detention in custody has to be the result, because the lawyer will take care of the child s interest in that period. The next question then is for how long time the detention has to last. For adults the time for the first imprisonment is normally four weeks, but that is not the case for children. One, or in serious cases two weeks, is normally the limit when a childe is imprisoned the first time. According to the law it is possible to impose detention for children for as long as four weeks, but it is - as said - normal not to exceed two weeks in these cases. The criminal procedure law demands that indictment and prosecution should be instituted speedily when the person charged with a criminal offence is under the age of 18. Strict time limits contribute to a speedily proceeding. By imposing short periods of detention in custody, the court is also given the opportunity to consider to which degree the detention has influenced the child, both physical and psychical. If the detention has unreasonable affects for the child, the court cannot prolong the detention. This is weighty arguments that the judge takes into great consideration.

4 In some cases imprisonment last for a long period, but that is not normally the case. Only in the most serious cases the imprisonment lasts for more than one or two periods, that means 2-4 weeks all together. Unfortunately we have seen cases where children have been detained in custody for more than six months. In these cases the length of the detention may be due to complicated cases that need long-lasting investigation, or the fact that the child has a weak connection to Norway so that one fears that the child will runaway and obstruct further criminal proceedings. Normal criminal cases The judge knows that imprisonment very seldom makes the child less criminal. Often the opposite is the result. The child becomes more attracted or attached to criminal activities when held in prison. The judge also knows that imprisonment often will be much harder for a child than it will be for an adult. This knowledge makes it difficult for a judge to make a sentence that gives the child a long time in prison. On the other hand, the community has an obligation to secure the human rights of everyone. Most important is the community s obligation to secure everyone s right to life. This obligation cannot be overlooked in the most extreme cases. The community will often demand a serious reaction to serious crime. The community also does not easily see the child behind the crime.

5 And of course it is also the interest of the victims concerned. The victim needs a serious treatment and a good process in the criminal case. These different perspectives make it difficult for the judge to find the right or the best sentence. But I will say that in opposite to criminal cases concerning adults, criminal cases with children, the judge normally put the interest of the child before the interest of the community. It is more important to find a sentence that is good for the child and that maybe will make a difference to the child s criminal activities. This perspective also seems to be the best for the victims. But this is not as easy as it seems. What actually will make a difference to the child and what works in treating criminal behavior in a way that stops criminal activity?