Between 16-17 October 2024, State institutions and civil society actors attended the Roundtable.
The Roundtable was organised to gauge the status of restorative justice vis-à-vis juvenile justice in the Maldives. The Juvenile Justice Act 2019 is the only legislation in the country with an explicit restorative objective. The Act entrenches diversion measures for children in conflict with the law and seeks to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society.
The Roundtable converged the nodal institutions identified under the Act, such as the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the Maldives Police Services, the Prosecutor’s General Office, the Juvenile Court, and the Maldives Correctional Services to discuss their individual and complementary roles in the juvenile justice system. Additionally, the participation of the Ministry of Education and civil society organisations such as Transparency Maldives and Advocating the Rights of Children was important because of their role in preventing children from committing acts against the law and advancing children’s rights in the country.
This programme is built on the study on “Restorative Justice in the Maldives” commissioned by the Foundation with independent expert Ms Aminath Fazla Abdul-Samad. The study explores the restorative justice mechanisms available in the Maldives and delves into the restorative approaches enshrined in the Juvenile Justice Act 2019.
The objective of the Roundtable was to assess the status of the implementation of the Act, examine the restorative practices in the Maldives, and discuss the practical challenges encountered by the stakeholders while implementing the Act. The sessions in the Roundtable were designed in consultation with the DJJ.
The programme had thematic sessions that introduced restorative justice, delved into the restorative mechanisms entrenched in the Juvenile Justice Act, and thoroughly examined the contents of the Act. This was complemented by a session on comparative restorative models being implemented in schools, communities, and criminal justice.
A panel discussion was also organised with representatives from the DJJ and Transparency Maldives. The Roundtable concluded with a summary of the key findings captured in the study and an activity where the participants designed interventions in line with the principles of restorative justice.
The Foundation thanks representatives from the DJJ and independent experts Ms. Fazla and Mr. Chris Straker for their contributions during the Roundtable.
This Roundtable was the first of its kind organised by the Max Planck Foundation and the Department of Juvenile Justice under the German Federal Foreign Office-funded project ‘At the Crossroad Between Progressive Reforms and Democratic Backsliding: Supporting the Stabilisation of the Maldives’.