The Safety Measure Of Involuntary Hospital Admission Of The Accused Minor Within The Criminal Trial

Abstract

By taking safety measures during the criminal trial, the aim is to remove the state of danger for society, as well as to prevent the commission of new crimes as described by criminal law. However, while the society may be defended by taking such measures against criminals, when it comes to juvenile offenders the public opinion could be more forgiving.      In this context, the purpose of this article is to highlight whether it is a true necessity of the judicial bodies to take the measure of involuntary hospitalization during the criminal trial against the accused minor who is a consumer of psychoactive substances due to which he/she committed a crime. As it turns out, there is no significant evidence that the forced hospital admission has indeed a positive outcome, but the actual opposite. Even if the accused minor might be cured of his addiction, the forced hospital entry may leave him/her with a lack of confidence, fear, difficulty in social reintegration and even return to consumption.       As a concrete reaction in relation to the state, dynamics and diversity of the criminal phenomenon registered among juvenile delinquents, a better option for the justice system may be cohesion rather than coercion, meaning the insurance of access to treatment and care for addicted juvenile offenders, as an alternative to conviction and punishment.