NARRATOR While youth court proceedings take
place in open court, meaning that members
of the public can attend and observe the proceedings,
the YCJA does contain specific provisions
regarding the publication of a youth's identity.
As a general rule, no identifying information
that would reveal that a young person has
been dealt with by the youth justice system
can be published. The rationale for this general
rule is that publication can undermine efforts
to rehabilitate and reintegrate young people
back into the community.
NARRATOR However, there are exceptions to
the rule against publication. For example,
when a youth court imposes an adult sentence,
the publication ban is automatically lifted.
The YCJA also allows for publication when
a youth sentence is imposed for a violent
offence, and the judge finds that lifting
the publication ban is necessary to protect
the public against a significant risk that
the young person will commit another violent
offence.
