The way in which the justice system responds to young persons who violate the criminal law is profoundly significant, not only for those who are directly involved in the process but also for society as a whole. A society’s response to young offenders conveys important messages about its attitudes to youth and has significant implications for its future.

While the primary focus of this book is on the legal issues that arise in the youth justice system, the book is premised on the belief that youth justice issues must be understood in a broader context. This book includes some discussion of constitutional, evidentiary, and procedural issues that are relevant to youth justice; it also explores some of the ethical and practical issues that confront lawyers and other professionals working in the youth justice system. The book considers the broader social and political context for issues of adolescent offending and youth justice.

This is the second edition of Youth Criminal Justice Law. The first edition was written by Nicholas Bala before the YCJA came into force, but it has been frequently cited by the courts in interpreting the Act. That earlier work has been substantially revised, with the present edition discussing caselaw interpreting the Act, recent social science literature, and political developments since the YCJA came into force; however, some parts of the earlier text have been incorporated into this edition.

This book will be of interest to students in law schools, criminology programs, and other related disciplines, as well as lawyers, judges, teachers, probation officers, social workers, mental health professionals, and other justice system professionals. The book is intended to give an introduction to the laws governing young people who come into conflict with the law. It has a particular focus on Canada’s Youth Criminal Justice Act, which came into force in April of 2003.

Nicholas Bala is one of Canada's leading experts in the field of family law. He has a special interest, and has published extensively, in the area of family obligations and legal issues related to children such as child abuse, young offenders, custody and access following divorce, and child support. His work is often cited by the courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has done considerable consulting on law reform issues in the family law field for federal and provincial governments as well as for aboriginal organizations, and he has appeared as a witness at a number of Parliamentary hearings. He is frequently invited to speak at education programs for judges, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals and is regularly interviewed by the media about family law issues. Professor Bala received the Queen's Law Students' Society Award for Teaching Excellence in 1993 and 1998. He has been a visiting professor at McGill University and Duke Law School and a visiting scholar at the University of Calgary.

Nicholas Bala's profile page

Sanjeev Anand is the Dean at the College of Law at the University of Saskatchewan. He is a former prosecutor and began his career as a Legal Aid staff lawyer whose practice primarily dealt with the defence of young offenders.He teaches and researches in five fields: substantive criminal law, criminal procedure, sentencing, evidence, and constitutional law. An area of particular interest to Dr. Anand is youth justice. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen book chapters, journal articles, and commissioned reports on various aspects of Canada’s juvenile justice system. Dean Anand’s work has been cited by courts across the nation, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He has done considerable consulting on law reform issues in the criminal law field for the federal government and he is a frequent media commentator on criminal and constitutional law issues. He is the coauthor (with Eric Colvin) of Principles of Criminal Law, 3d ed. (2007), a treatise that critically explores the general principles underlying the law of criminal culpability in Canada.

Sanjeev Anand's profile page