Commentary on Sections Section 10: Release on licence of child convicted of serious offence
Section 10 addresses an ECHR-incompatibility issue that has arisen with the use of detention orders for children found guilty of serious offending. The amended provisions remove the power of the Minister of Justice to determine matters relating to the release, setting of licence conditions and recall to custody for a child subject to such an order and, instead, provide for these to be determined by the sentencing court and the Parole Commissioners for Northern Ireland. This introduces the necessary element of judicial or judicial-style independence for compliance with the ECHR and brings the detention order into line with all other custodial orders that involve release under licence.