The Importance of Individual Assessment Reports in Sentencing Juveniles

Harmonization of Georgian legislation with international, European standards recognized by the European Union is a major challenge for the country, among which the field of juvenile justice occupies a special place. The principle of an individual approach to a juvenile, which finds vitality through an individual assessment report, is an innovation in Georgian criminal law, which the Parliament of Georgia introduced into Georgian reality on June 12, 2015 with the adoption of the “Juvenile Justice Code”.     The purpose of the paper is to present the importance of the individual assessment report in juvenile justice when imposing a sentence on minors, to analyze the legal guarantees for protecting the best interests of the minor through the individual assessment report, and to assess the compliance of national legislation with international standards. The legislation regulating juvenile justice provides for a number of guarantees that ensure the balancing of the interests of a minor in conflict with the law, with the interests of justice and public safety. In the event of a conflict between legal values, how should a fair balance be achieved? The paper will discuss the stages of using the individual assessment report, the terms and procedure for preparing the report. The paper will demonstrate the relationship between the principles of best interests and proportionality.     The paper will discuss the extent to which public opinion and the media influence the judiciary and the judge hearing the case in the process of sentencing a juvenile, and what role the individual assessment report plays in determining a proportionate sentence for the juvenile by the judge.