The problem of admissibility of the application of preventive measures against young offenders Part 1
Art. 10 § 2 of the 1997 Criminal Code provides for the extraordinary criminal liability of young offenders, who are over the age of 15 at the time of committing a criminal offence. The above provision stipulates that in the case of young offenders’ committing any of the enumerated offences, they may be tried pursuant to the provisions of the Criminal Code. Juvenile delinquents are then treated the same way as adult perpetrators. However, it raises concerns whether the preventive measures may be applied against the specific category of perpetrators — the insane, the mentally deficient, drug addicts or the sexually disordered. The content of the first part of the Article referred to above includes theoretical considerations as an introduction to the interpretation of the currently applicable regulations. It was necessary to analyse the problem of the application of preventive measures against young offenders in the light of the criminal law in force in the years 1932–1969, 1969–1982 and 1982–1997. It is striking that the admissibility of the application of preventive measures against juvenile delinquents has not yet been clearly and precisely regulated, which can be attributed to the views of the representatives of jurisprudence and judicature. These views are reflected in the aforementioned part of the Article in question, constituting a form of historical interpretation of the discussed issue.