The article conducts a comparative legal analysis of the legal status of juveniles sentenced to imprisonment in Ukraine and the Republic of Lithuania. Institutions where juveniles are serving sentences have been identified.

The list of their rights and distinctive features has been also analyzed and highlighted. It is established that the list of convicted juveniles’ rights in Ukraine and the Republic of Lithuania has many common features, but by the way there are some clear differences. Thus, short-term appointments in Ukraine are provided without restrictions in contrast to Lithuanian ones, and long-term appointments, compared to the usual group, are provided more.

The article specifies the responsibilities assigned to convicted juveniles. Thus, the responsibilities of juveniles sentenced to imprisonment in Ukraine and Lithuania are quite similar and there are no significant differences between them.

A comparison of incentives and penalties applied to juveniles sentenced to imprisonment in these countries has been compared. Thus, in the Republic of Lithuania there are two measures of incentives that are not inherent in the domestic penitentiary system, and this is: «permission to go home during the holidays» and «granting a short-term trip home». Convicted juveniles who have served at least one third of a sentence imposed by the court may be allowed to go home every three months for a period of three days. In Ukraine, a convicted juvenile may not be deprived of the right to receive a parcel or may not be prohibited from purchasing food. As for the being placed in a disciplinary detention center, in Ukraine the terms of juveniles’ detention in such places are twice shorter than in Lithuania. The maximum age of convicts in special institutions for juveniles has been also determined in the article. It is noted that there are norms in Lithuanian legislation that could also improve the legal status of juvenile convicts in Ukraine for better.

The authors have formulated the proposals to improve the criminal and executive legislation of Ukraine, namely to supplement Article 143 of the Criminal and Executive Code of Ukraine of the part 3 of the following content: «3. Convicts who have served at least half of their sentence, considering their personality, a part of their sentence and their behavior during the sentence, may be allowed to go home during the holidays, but not more than once per every three months. The trip is accompanied by parents or other close relatives. Travel expenses are paid by a convict or his/her close relatives».

Key words: legal status, juvenile convicts, imprisonment, incentives, the Republic of Lithuania.

References

1. Republic of Lithuania (2002), Penal Enforcement Code of the Republic of Lithuania: Law of the Republic of Lithuania, available at: https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalact/lt/tad/tais.171368?jfwid=-je7i1szj2 (accessed 12 September 2021).
2. Ukraine (2003), Criminal and Executive Code of Ukraine: Law of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Kyiv.