responsibility finder
Schleswig-Holstein

In all criminal proceedings against a juvenile (14-17 years old at the time of the offense) or adolescent (18-20 years old at the time of the offense), the juvenile court must involve the juvenile court assistance.

The juvenile court assistance decides at its own dutiful discretion whether and in what way it will participate in the proceedings. General criminal law (as for adults) or juvenile criminal law can be applied to adolescents if a typical juvenile offense has been committed or if the adolescent is still at a juvenile stage in his/her development.

Juvenile court assistance advises young offenders and their families, attends court hearings, makes a proposal for a possible sentence and provides aftercare (e.g. arranging and monitoring social work hours, a traffic education course, a social training course or similar).