Republic Act No.

9344
“Juvenile Justice & Welfare Act”

Child
-Refers to a person under eighteen (18) years of age.
-Children over 18, demented or with incapacity, not covered.

Child at risk
-Refers to a child who is vulnerable to and at the risk of committing criminal offenses because of
personal, family or social circumstances.

Child in conflict with the Law

-Refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense
under Philippine Laws.

Declaration of State Policy

 Protects the best interest of the child
 Recognizes the rights of children to care and special protection
 Recognizes rights of CICL under Convention on the Rights of the Child
 Applies the principle of restorative justice in dealing with CICL

-RESTORATIVE JUSTICE – is a principle which requires a process of resolving conflicts

with the maximum involvement of the victim, offender, and community.

Rights of CICL
-No torture
-No capital punishment
-No unlawful deprivation of liberty; detention as a last resort and for shortest - period of
time
-Humane treatment; separation from adults
-Access to legal and other assistance
 -Bail and release on recognizance
-Testify in his behalf
-Privacy

  Criminal Civil Procedure

Age Liability Liability

15 years of age or Exempt Subjected Subjected to

under at the time of to civil intervention
the commission of liability programs
the offense
Above 15 years of Exempt Subjected Subjected to
age but below 18 to civil diversion
years of age without liability programs
discernment

Above 15 years of Subject to Subjected Subjected to

age but below 18 criminal liability to civil diversion
years of age with but shall undergo liability programs
discernment diversion
program
At least 18 years of Subject to Subjected N/A
age criminal liability  to civil
liability

Ascertainment of Criminal Liability based on Age and

Discernment

-Children 15 years of age or under at the time of the commission of the offense – shall be
exempt from criminal liability. However, the child shall be subjected to an intervention
program.
-Children
Discernment
-Mental capacity to understand the difference between right or wrong and its consequences.
 Systems of Diversion
-Children in conflict with law shall undergo diversion programs without undergoing court
proceedings, subject to the following:

1. If imposable penalty is not more than six (6) years, the law enforcement officer or Punong
Barangay with the assistance of the C/MSWDO shall conduct mediation, family
conferencing and conciliation, where appropriate, adopt indigenous mode of conflict
resolution in accordance to the best interest of the child;
2. In victimless crimes where the imposable penalty is not more than six years of
imprisonment, the C/MSWDO shall meet with the child and his/her parents or guardians for
the development of the appropriate diversion and rehabilitation programs;

3. If imposable penalty exceeds six years, diversion measures may be resolved to only by the
court.

Diversion Measures
If the maximum imposable penalty for the offense with which the child in conflict with law is
charged is imprisonment of not more than twelve years, regardless of fine, and before
arraignment, the court shall determine whether or not diversion is appropriate.

Suspension of Sentence

Child under 18 years of age at the time of commission of the offense, if found guilty, civil
liability shall be determined and ascertained However, instead of pronouncing the judgment
of conviction, the court shall place the child in conflict with law under suspended sentence,
without need of application.

Suspension of sentence shall still be applied even if the juvenile is already 18 or more at the
time of pronouncement of his/her guilt.

Discharge

 -Upon the recommendation of the social worker who has custody of the child, the
court shall dismiss the case against the child whose sentence has been suspended and
against whom disposition measures have been issued and shall order the final
discharge of the child, if it finds that the objective of the disposition measures have
been fulfilled
  -Discharge shall not affect the civil liability

Confidentiality of Records and Proceedings

 -Non-disclosure of records to media
 Separate police blotter
 System of coding to conceal identity of child
 Non-use of records in other proceedings, except when beneficial to offender and with
his written consent
 No liability of child for perjury for not disclosing his being CICL

Rehabilitation
-Rehabilitation may be community-based or center-based
-Court order required for admission to rehabilitation or training facility
-Separate facilities from adults
-Special attention for female CICL; separate accommodations

Return of the Child in Conflict with the Law to Court

-If the court finds that the objective of the disposition measures have not been fulfilled or if the
child in conflict with law has willfully failed to comply with the conditions of his/her disposition
or rehabilitation program, the child in conflict with law shall be brought before the court for
execution of judgment

-If the child in conflict with law has reached 18 years of age while under suspended sentence, the
court shall determine whether to discharge the child, to order execution of sentence of to or to
extend the suspended sentence for a certain specific period or until the child reached the max age
of 21 years.