Juvenile delinquency as a social and legal challenge

Juvenile delinquency represents a complex social phenomenon arising from numerous and interrelated factors - familial, economic, educational, and cultural. Although primarily a social issue, it inevitably requires an appropriate legal response. The aim of this paper is to analyze the phenomenology and etiology of juvenile criminal behavior, as well as to present the criminal-legal status of minors in the Republic of Serbia, with reference to statistical indicators and contemporary theoretical models. Special attention is devoted to identifying key risk factors and circumstances contributing to the emergence of deviant behavioral patterns among youth, including the presence of social-pathological phenomena and the impact of contemporary social changes.