ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses relevant aspects of the scientific and professional literatures regarding juvenile justice, and the evaluation of disposition and transfer, in countries beyond the United States. Numerous United Nations rules and guidelines related to juvenile justice were incorporated into the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), a human rights treaty that delineates the political, civil, economic, health, social and cultural rights of children (including those who are justice-involved). Describing the salient aspects of juvenile justice systems in countries outside of the US facilitates a review of the evaluation of disposition and transfer evaluations in the larger context of juvenile systems in different jurisdictions. The Canadian juvenile justice system operates under a model that emphasizes due process and bifurcation, so minor offenders are often diverted and those who commit more serious offenses are subject to sanctions. Diversion is important in the approach to juvenile offending in much of Europe.
