Reimagining Juvenile Justice in the Digital Age: A Critical Review of the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018

Abstract

This high pace of digitisation has radically altered the nature of juvenile justice practices in Pakistan, and the Juvenile Justice System Act, 2018 (JJSA) sits awkwardly alongside the punitive approach of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA). Although the JJSA reflects a rights-based, rehabilitative vision grounded in constitutional protection and international obligations, it has remained weak in addressing the new realities of cybercrime, online victimisation and algorithm hijacking. This paper presents a critical account of the strengths and weaknesses of the JJSA in dealing with juvenile offences in a digital age. Using an international comparative perspective generated by international jurisprudence and good practices, it contends that Pakistan needs to reconcile its juvenile justice, child protection, and cybercrimes laws to have a child-receptive structure to protect children's dignity, privacy, and rehabilitation. Legal, Court and institutional changes to address such gaps have been highlighted, including specialised cyber-juvenile jurisdictions, data safeguards, diversion schemes and regional networks that mitigate punitive overkill and other digital ills to the juvenile.