Criminal law

Other measures

What is an extrajudicial sanction?

An extrajudicial sanction, which is part of the larger category of extrajudicial measures, is an alternative type of response offered in the youth justice system. This option is appropriate when extrajudicial measures that could be used by police aren’t enough to hold the adolescent accountable for his actions – such extrajudicial measures might include a caution (note that cautions are not used in Quebec), warning, or referral to an organization that might help the youth. “Extrajudicial sanction” is the new term for what used to be called “alternative measures”. It can only be offered to a youth who has accepted responsibility for his offence and only if there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a formal charge.

If you’re finding it hard to figure out the difference between extrajudicial measures and extrajudicial sanctions, you can read more in the Infosheets entitled Extrajudicial sanctions and Extrajudicial measures: Keeping adolescents out of court. These should help shed more light on the subject.

Once he has accepted the offer to participate in an extrajudicial sanctions program, the adolescent must sign an agreement with the Provincial Director (the “Director of Youth Protection” in Quebec), who is represented by a youth worker. With this agreement, the youth makes a commitment to taking steps to repair the damage caused by his offence.

Does the victim have a say in determining what form the extrajudicial sanction will take?

Certainly. The law clearly says that a victim can play an active role in the process of choosing an appropriate sanction. The victim can also have a say in what kind of restitution he should be granted.

Mediation between the youth and the victim is one type of extrajudicial sanction that lends itself to victim participation. In the presence of a representative from an organisme de justice alternative (OJA), the youth and the victim determine the course of action together. They might decide that the adolescent will perform work for the victim’s benefit (this might include mowing the lawn, cleaning, etc.) or that he will pay a sum of money to compensate the victim for the injury or loss he’s suffered.

Who decides what extrajudicial sanction the adolescent will face?

In most cases, the police will first evaluate the seriousness of the offence and find out whether it is a repeat offence for the youth. Next, the police send the file to the Crown attorney, who reviews the file herself. If the Crown attorney decides the case could be appropriately dealt with by using an extrajudicial sanction, she sends it to the Director of Youth Protection.

The youth worker assigned to the file determines which sanction would be most appropriate given the youth’s needs, availability, resources, and the like. Depending on the situation, the youth worker can ask that a conference be set up to make recommendations. To learn more about this process, you can refer to the Infosheet entitled Conferences.

After collecting as much information as possible, the youth worker proposes the extrajudicial sanction she feels is appropriate. If the adolescent agrees, this proposal becomes the heart of the agreement signed between him and the youth worker. The adolescent therefore has a role to play in selecting his own sanction. Once the specific sanction has been chosen, the person in charge of the file must communicate the decision to the youth’s parents.

Who oversees the performance of an extrajudicial sanction?

Once the agreement between the adolescent and the youth worker is signed, an organisme de justice alternative (OJA) is put in charge of supervising the performance of the extrajudicial sanction.

OJAs are non-profit organizations recognized by the Centres jeunesse du Québec. One of their responsibilities is to develop and apply extrajudicial sanctions.

OJAs are members of the Regroupement des organismes de justice alternative du Québec (ROJAQ).

How exactly is the OJA involved in supervising the performance of the sanction?

First of all, the OJA contacts the youth and his parents to set up a first meeting. During this meeting, an OJA representative reminds the youth of the nature of the extrajudicial sanction to be completed, explains how the extrajudicial sanctions program will work, and answers any questions the youth may have.

If the adolescent has to perform service for the victim’s benefit, the representative will do a follow-up with the victim to make sure the young person is fulfilling his commitments. If the sanction involves performing community service, the representative must determine the youth’s availability, interests, skills, and means of transportation. Together, the youth and representative determine a work plan, find an appropriate host organization, and ensure that the youth is accepted by the organization. During the period of service, the representative does a follow-up with the host organization to make sure the terms of the sanction agreement are being respected.

What happens if the youth fails to respect the extrajudicial sanction agreement?

Here are a few examples of what might qualify as a failure to respect the agreement on an extrajudicial sanction:

• Not contacting or failing to return calls from the OJA when required;
  
• Not showing up for mandatory meetings or being late;
  
• Failing to complete the community work in a satisfactory manner;
  
• Having a disrespectful attitude towards the host organization, the victim(s), or those involved in the extrajudicial sanction;
  
• Failing to fulfill the extrajudicial sanction as set out in the agreement.

When a youth doesn’t respect the extrajudicial sanction agreement, the OJA writes an evaluation report outlining the youth’s failure to complete the sanction. The OJA then sends the evaluation report to the youth worker. As explained above, the youth worker is responsible for the adolescent’s file at the Centre jeunesse and is the person with whom he signed the agreement.

Next, the youth worker may decide to let the Crown attorney know about the situation. The Crown attorney can decide to pursue the criminal case against the youth or to take no action and simply close the file.

What happens when the youth successfully completes the extrajudicial sanction?

The OJA sends an evaluation report to the youth worker saying that the extrajudicial sanction was successfully completed.

The youth worker keeps the report in the adolescent’s extrajudicial sanction file. This type of file remains open for a period of two years as of the date on which the agreement was signed. If the youth re-offends within this two-year period, his file can be taken into consideration in determining an extrajudicial measure or extrajudicial sanction for the new offence, or during sentencing.

If the adolescent was facing criminal charges for his offence, the court must dismiss the charges once he successfully completes the terms of his extrajudicial sanction. If the extrajudicial sanction was only partially completed, the court may still dismiss the charges, taking into consideration the adolescent’s conduct.

1. Centres jeunesse du Québec
2. Regroupement des organismes de justice alternative du Québec