Seminar on juvenile detention in Amman

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Published: December 6, 2023

The IRZ and the Jordanian Directorate of Public Security organised a seminar in Amman on 6 November 2023 on how to deal with detainees who are minors, and how to implement an effective penitentiary planning system.  The event was funded by the Federal Ministry of Justice within the framework of institutional support.

The Jordanian experts spoke, among others, on the topics of “Penalties in the Jordanian juvenile justice system” and “Transfer of persons from juvenile to adult penitentiary systems”. Jordan has courts, judges and prosecutors specifically for juveniles. If a suspended sentence is handed down, a report must be submitted to the court every three months. Jordanian juvenile criminal law places a particular focus on mediation to resolve conflicts. The speakers also addressed these aspects. The German team of experts presented the juvenile sentences in accordance with the German Youth Courts of Justice Law, and discussed the transfer of persons from juvenile to adult penitentiary systems in Germany. The German contingent also presented the structuring and creation of an enforcement and integration plan within the framework of the juvenile penitentiary system and the function of the juvenile court and probation service in Germany.

The participants discussed how the probation service deals with juvenile, violent perpetrators and juvenile addicts, and the differences that arise from the age limit of the juvenile penitentiary under German and Jordanian law, and also exchanged views on the similarities between the two systems. These include a focus on education and the importance of reintegration into society. Both of these aspects have a high priority in both the Jordanian and German juvenile penitentiary systems.