Brian Safran is the author of “Juvenile Justice Policy from the Perspective of International Human Rights,” which is soon to be published by the Cardozo Law Review de•novo of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

The paper was written for an International Human Rights Law course at New York University, where Safran recently earned a Master of Science degree in Global Affairs (with distinction).

Safran’s article offers a defense of systems of juvenile justice from a human rights perspective. It seeks to answer the question of why have separate systems of justice for minors accused of crimes. The paper provides a brief overview of the significant body of international agreements to which states have acceded, and posits arguments on both sides of the debate as to whether juvenile protections should be strengthened or curtailed. It incorporates international research on judicial outcomes and on the treatment of juveniles, and finds significant gaps between states’ commitments and practices. The paper focuses on the neuroscientific and cognitive bases for juvenile treatment, and identifies some of the misconceptions regarding juvenile crime. In the end, it is argued that adjudicating minors through separate systems of juvenile justice best serve the ends of rehabilitating the juvenile as well as protecting society.