The Role of Educational Measures for Juvenile Offenders in Forensic Psychiatry

Abstract

The New Penal Code (NPC) of Romania gave up on punishing minor offenders, in favor of educational measures. Thus, the minor following a final conviction, will not be subjected to the prohibitions, detentions or incapacity attributable to the penalties applicable to major offenders. Thus, the emphasis is moved from punishment, to prevention, re-education and social reinsertion. The New Penal Code delimits from the previous one, the institution of the educational measures depriving of liberty from that of non-custodial educational measures. Psychiatric forensic expertise of the minor plays a key role in the court decision, through its conclusions regarding the existence of discernment at the time of committing the act. In the case of determining the presence of discernment at the time of committing the act, the psychiatric forensic board will also make recommendations on the educational measure that should be instituted. In the recommendations made, the board considers both personality deficiencies and social etiology, dissociating the meaning of behavior from the social situation in which the subject of law is. Thus, the recommendations made by the board of psychiatric forensic expertise are the result of a thorough analysis of the minor's psychic state, the nature of the committed act, corroborated with the concrete circumstances of committing it, with the opportunity to appreciate critically the act because of the education received and with the influences of the environment. In addition, in recommending educational measures, the board also takes into consideration the family support that the minor benefits or not, essential support in his social reintegration.