The Process of Developing Special Measures instead of Processing Youth and Families by Buddhist Peaceful Means: A Case Study of the Juvenile Family Court in Chonburi Province

Abstract

The study consisted of the following objectives: 1) to analyze context, current problems of a development process, and concepts in the development of special measures in place of juvenile and family prosecution according to the modern science; 2) to analyze the Buddhist peaceful means for developing special measures in place of juvenile and family prosecution; and 3) to present a development process of special measures in place of juvenile and family prosecution by Buddhist peaceful means at Chonburi Juvenile and Family Court. The study employed an action research. The tools were developed based on Ariyasacca (the four noble truths) model under 9-step framework. Key informants included 13 associate judges and focus groups included peaceful means experts, psychologists, and judges involved in juvenile cases, directors of the observation center, and directors of training center, in a total of 8 people.

From the study, the following results are found: 1) Problems of using special measures instead of juvenile and family prosecution still need to be improved as the special measures taken prior to the trial where Section 90 will be used are still frequently ineffective because juvenile offenders must agree to a rehabilitation program, in which they must feel guilty before the process can start. In practice, victims do not have the opportunity to participate in the negotiation. Including, the rehabilitation period is typically short, it takes a long time for juvenile offenders to feel guilty, making it difficult to achieve significant correction, healing, and rehabilitation results; 2) The Buddhist peaceful means used in a development process of special measures in place of juvenile and family prosecution include Bhāvanā (the four development). This includes Kāya-bhāvanā (a physical and occupational development), Sīla-bhāvanā (a moral development which includes discipline and morality), Citta-bhāvanā (an emotional development to control emotions), and Paññā-bhāvanā (an intellectual development so that juveniles can solve problems using wisdom and coexist in the society morally; and 3) The special measures in place of juvenile and family prosecution by Buddhist peaceful means at Chonburi Juvenile and Family Court includes a process that prevents juveniles from repeating the same offence. The juveniles should be encouraged to participate, with the associate judges participating in the coordination, so that the rehabilitation is effective, and the juveniles can find a job at the end of the case.