The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 part I: A significant move towards restorative justice, or a recipe for unintended consequences?

Part I of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 introduces a man datory new sentence of referral to a youth offending panel for most young o ffenders appearing before a youth court or magistrates' court for the first time. This article examines the provisions, and critically reviews the ext ent to which referral to a panel, as currently enacted, is likely to achiev e either "restorative justice" or the statutory objective of the youth just ice system-a reduction in youth offending.