Peculiarities of juvenile participation in criminal procedure

Peculiarities of Juvenile Participation in Criminal Procedure The aim of the master´s work is to analyze the features of the participation of the under-aged in the criminal process referring to Lithuanian Republic laws, scientific literature, justice trials practice. Criminal justice is the most severely adjusted field of the social life, in which cases, involving the under-aged into the criminal process, happen more and more often, especially, when the process itself is started because of the criminal deeds committed by the under-aged, when they suffer or giving the status of the witness. The participation in the criminal process causes negative feelings and stress for a person, and taking into account the procedural status of the person, that is being a suspect or a accused one gets restraints of rights and freedoms, and if one is a victim, restoring the justice and made damage, property and non-property.These negative consequences can have influence on the under-aged, that is why to protect them are foreseen features, which must be referred and followed by the officials who analyze the investigation ( before-the-trial investigation officials, prosecutors or lawyers) in order to protect the under-aged from the possible consequences in the future. In the first part of the work the conception of the under-aged child is analyzed. It was revealed, that the conception of the under-aged child in the sense of the criminal process is directed only to the criterius of the age. In the second part the conception of the suffered under-aged, the legal status, the aspects, related to the representation of the suffered under-aged and other procedure questions which are relevant to the under-aged participating in the criminal process are discussed. In conclusion, namely legal representation of the under-aged helps to ensure the under-aged the protection of their rights and freedoms and relevant realization in the process. Also, the suggestion is put forward to include the regulation, legitimating the possibility to let the actual tutor of the under-aged to participate in the process as a legal representative in exceptional cases, into national laws. In the third part the conception of the under-aged as a suspect is analyzed the rights and duties, the specifications related to the measures of suppression given to the under-aged. In the fourth part the features of the process when the under-aged is invited as a witness in the criminal case giving the conception, duties and features are looked over