The Child justice Act 75 of 2008 is part of a process of reforming the youth justice system in South Africa to deal in a more complete way with children accused

of committing offences. The Act covers the procedures that people in authority must follow from the time the child is arrested until the moment when the sentence is passed, and aims to protect children’s rights. The Act also follows the restorative justice approach towards children accused of committing crimes. This approach means ‘promoting reconciliation, restitution and responsibility through the involvement of a child, the child’s parent, family members, victims and communities’. Reconciliation means bringing the parties together to resolve the matter and reach agreement on how the child should be punished. Restitution means putting the child back into his/her own environment.