ABSTRACT

The ‘back to justice’ critique and the concept of just deserts were influential in the development of youth justice legislation in the 1980s and early 1990s. The Criminal Justice Act 1991, in particular, placed considerable emphasis on separating offending and ‘welfare’ matters in youth justice proceedings. However, since the early 1990s the concept of just deserts has been railroaded by advocates of deterrent and retributive models of youth justice, underpinned by a return to punitive principles in the sentencing of young offenders. This has led to the concept of just deserts mistakenly being linked with deterrent retribution rather than the broader objective of proportional justice.