Improving child justice in Kenya: an analysis of the protection of child offenders’ rights

Abstract

Every year, many children are involved with the criminal judicial system. A considerable number of these children are subjected to the criminal justice system and suffer physical, psychological, and/or sexual abuse. This is evident even though both domestic and international law establish safeguards to ensure that children who are in conflict with the law have their rights protected during the legal process. The involvement of courts is particularly noteworthy, in the context of safeguarding the legal rights of minors involved in legal disputes. The purpose of this research is to look into the structure of the trial process for children in legal conflict, the role of courts and other child justice system actors in defending those children's rights, and the challenges that occur in doing so. In addition, outstanding methods from other jurisdictions, such as South Africa, will be explored, and insights acquired from best practices in those jurisdictions will be applied to offer future possibilities for preserving child offenders' rights.