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Youth Criminal Justice Act (S.C. 2002, c. 1)

Assented to 2002-02-19

Marginal note:Records in the custody, etc., of archivists

 When records originally kept under sections 114 to 116 are under the custody or control of the National Archivist of Canada or the archivist for any province, that person may disclose any information contained in the records to any other person if

  • (a) a youth justice court judge is satisfied that the disclosure is desirable in the public interest for research or statistical purposes; and

  • (b) the person to whom the information is disclosed undertakes not to disclose the information in any form that could reasonably be expected to identify the young person to whom it relates.

Marginal note:Disclosure with court order
  •  (1) The youth justice court may, on the application of the provincial director, the Attorney General or a peace officer, make an order permitting the applicant to disclose to the person or persons specified by the court any information about a young person that is specified, if the court is satisfied that the disclosure is necessary, having regard to the following circumstances:

    • (a) the young person has been found guilty of an offence involving serious personal injury;

    • (b) the young person poses a risk of serious harm to persons; and

    • (c) the disclosure of the information is relevant to the avoidance of that risk.

  • Marginal note:Opportunity to be heard

    (2) Subject to subsection (3), before making an order under subsection (1), the youth justice court shall give the young person, a parent of the young person and the Attorney General an opportunity to be heard.

  • Marginal note:Ex parte application

    (3) An application under subsection (1) may be made ex parte by the Attorney General where the youth justice court is satisfied that reasonable efforts have been made to locate the young person and that those efforts have not been successful.

  • Marginal note:Time limit

    (4) No information may be disclosed under subsection (1) after the end of the applicable period set out in subsection 119(2) (period of access to records).

Disposition or Destruction of Records and Prohibition on Use and Disclosure

Marginal note:Effect of end of access periods
  •  (1) Subject to sections 123, 124 and 126, after the end of the applicable period set out in section 119 or 120 no record kept under sections 114 to 116 may be used for any purpose that would identify the young person to whom the record relates as a young person dealt with under this Act or the Young Offenders Act, chapter Y-1 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985.

  • Marginal note:Disposal of records

    (2) Subject to paragraph 125(7)(c), any record kept under sections 114 to 116, other than a record kept under subsection 115(3), may, in the discretion of the person or body keeping the record, be destroyed or transmitted to the National Archivist of Canada or the archivist for any province, at any time before or after the end of the applicable period set out in section 119.

  • Marginal note:Disposal of R.C.M.P. records

    (3) All records kept under subsection 115(3) shall be destroyed or, if the National Archivist of Canada requires it, transmitted to the National Archivist of Canada, at the end of the applicable period set out in section 119 or 120.

  • Marginal note:Purging CPIC

    (4) The Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police shall remove a record from the automated criminal conviction records retrieval system maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the end of the applicable period referred to in section 119; however, information relating to a prohibition order made under an Act of Parliament or the legislature of a province shall be removed only at the end of the period for which the order is in force.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (5) Despite subsections (1), (2) and (4), an entry that is contained in a system maintained by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to match crime scene information and that relates to an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by a young person shall be dealt with in the same manner as information that relates to an offence committed by an adult for which a pardon granted under the Criminal Records Act is in effect.

  • Marginal note:Authority to inspect

    (6) The National Archivist of Canada may, at any time, inspect records kept under sections 114 to 116 that are under the control of a government institution as defined in section 2 of the National Archives of Canada Act, and the archivist for a province may at any time inspect any records kept under those sections that the archivist is authorized to inspect under any Act of the legislature of the province.

  • Definition of “destroy”

    (7) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), “destroy”, in respect of a record, means

    • (a) to shred, burn or otherwise physically destroy the record, in the case of a record other than a record in electronic form; and

    • (b) to delete, write over or otherwise render the record inaccessible, in the case of a record in electronic form.

Marginal note:No subsequent disclosure

 No person who is given access to a record or to whom information is disclosed under this Act shall disclose that information to any other person unless the disclosure is authorized under this Act.

PART 7GENERAL PROVISIONS

Disqualification of Judge

Marginal note:Disqualification of judge
  •  (1) Subject to subsection (2), a youth justice court judge who, prior to an adjudication in respect of a young person charged with an offence, examines a pre-sentence report made in respect of the young person in connection with that offence or has, after a guilty plea or a finding of guilt, heard submissions as to sentence and then there has been a change of plea, shall not in any capacity conduct or continue the trial of the young person for the offence and shall transfer the case to another judge to be dealt with according to law.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (2) A youth justice court judge may, in the circumstances referred to in subsection (1), with the consent of the young person and the prosecutor, conduct or continue the trial of the young person if the judge is satisfied that he or she has not been predisposed by a guilty plea or finding of guilt, or by information contained in the pre-sentence report or submissions as to sentence.

Substitution of Judge

Marginal note:Powers of substitute youth justice court judge
  •  (1) A youth justice court judge who acts in the place of another youth justice court judge under subsection 669.2(1) (continuation of proceedings) of the Criminal Code shall

    • (a) if an adjudication has been made, proceed to sentence the young person or make the order that, in the circumstances, is authorized by law; or

    • (b) if no adjudication has been made, recommence the trial as if no evidence had been taken.

  • Marginal note:Transcript of evidence already given

    (2) A youth justice court judge who recommences a trial under paragraph (1)(b) may, if the parties consent, admit into evidence a transcript of any evidence already given in the case.

Exclusion from Hearing

Marginal note:Exclusion from hearing
  •  (1) Subject to subsection (2), a court or justice before whom proceedings are carried out under this Act may exclude any person from all or part of the proceedings if the court or justice considers that the person’s presence is unnecessary to the conduct of the proceedings and the court or justice is of the opinion that

    • (a) any evidence or information presented to the court or justice would be seriously injurious or seriously prejudicial to

      • (i) the young person who is being dealt with in the proceedings,

      • (ii) a child or young person who is a witness in the proceedings, or

      • (iii) a child or young person who is aggrieved by or the victim of the offence charged in the proceedings; or

    • (b) it would be in the interest of public morals, the maintenance of order or the proper administration of justice to exclude any or all members of the public from the court room.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (2) Subject to section 650 (accused to be present) of the Criminal Code and except if it is necessary for the purposes of subsection 34(9) (nondisclosure of medical or psychological report) of this Act, a court or justice may not, under subsection (1), exclude from proceedings under this Act

    • (a) the prosecutor;

    • (b) the young person who is being dealt with in the proceedings, the counsel or a parent of the young person or any adult assisting the young person under subsection 25(7);

    • (c) the provincial director or his or her agent; or

    • (d) the youth worker to whom the young person’s case has been assigned.

  • Marginal note:Exclusion after adjudication or during review

    (3) A youth justice court, after it has found a young person guilty of an offence, or a youth justice court or a review board, during a review, may, in its discretion, exclude from the court or from a hearing of the review board any person other than the following, when it is being presented with information the knowledge of which might, in its opinion, be seriously injurious or seriously prejudicial to the young person:

    • (a) the young person or his or her counsel;

    • (b) the provincial director or his or her agent;

    • (c) the youth worker to whom the young person’s case has been assigned; and

    • (d) the Attorney General.

  • Marginal note:Exception

    (4) The exception set out in paragraph (3)(a) is subject to subsection 34(9) (nondisclosure of medical or psychological report) of this Act and section 650 (accused to be present) of the Criminal Code.

Transfer of Charges

Marginal note:Transfer of charges

 Despite subsections 478(1) and (3) of the Criminal Code, a young person charged with an offence that is alleged to have been committed in one province may, if the Attorney General of the province consents, appear before a youth justice court of any other province and

  • (a) if the young person pleads guilty to that offence and the youth justice court is satisfied that the facts support the charge, the court shall find the young person guilty of the offence alleged in the information or indictment; and

  • (b) if the young person pleads not guilty to that offence, or pleads guilty but the court is not satisfied that the facts support the charge, the young person shall, if he or she was detained in custody prior to the appearance, be returned to custody and dealt with according to law.

Forfeiture of Recognizances

Marginal note:Applications for forfeiture of recognizances

 Applications for the forfeiture of recognizances of young persons shall be made to the youth justice court.

 

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