| dc.description.abstract | High expectations have been placed on the Judiciary as the epitome of justice, it
should therefore ensure that juvenile justice flows from within its courts even before
other institutions follows suit. However the juvenile justice system seems to be fa iled,
starting from the courts, despite the existence of a progressive legal framework in
Kenya. In many instances, children who come into conflict with the law are treated in
the same way as adults. The number of juvenile offenders is increasing and many
children are not accessing justice even within the court corridors. The study evaluated
effectiveness of Kenyan courts in ensuring access to juvenile justice, a case study of
Siakago Law Court. The study was based on the following objectives: to evaluate
existing guidelines on juvenile court process; to establish if courts adhere to the
existing guidelines when handling juvenile cases; to establish whether the existing
court infrastructure facilitates accessibility to juvenile justice; to ascertain whether
Court staff is adequately trained to offer juvenile justice. The study was based on the
following hypotheses: existing physical infrastructure of the courts in Kenya impedes
access to juvenile justice; court staffs are not adequately trained to offer juvenile
justice; existing gui delines on handling juvenile cases are not effectively implemented
when handling juvenile cases in Kenya. Field research was undertaken at Siakago law
courts. A purposive sampling method was used to collect data. The study selected 44
respondents. Questionnaires and interviews were utilized. The researcher employed
quantitative and qualitative approaches for data analysis. The researcher made the
following findings from the study; that the existing guidelines are effective to
facili tate juvenile justice if adhered to; that Siakago law court does not fully comply
with the guidelines when dealing with children cases; the existing physical
infrastructure is not conducive for administration of juvenile justice and that the court
staff are not trained on juvenile justice. The foregoing findings are core to the
judiciary, Children in conflict with the law, their parents and the Judiciary staff among
others. The study recommends that the Judicial officers presiding over Children cases
and the court staff do adhere to the guidelines on juvenile justice; that the Judiciary
does establish separate physical infrastructure incorporating holding cells for
juveniles; and training on juvenile justice for the court staff. | en_US |
