Når børn og unge pålægges sagsomkostninger i straffesager

In Denmark, juveniles (aged 15-17) – as adults – are required to repay the Treasury for the necessary expenses incurred in the processing of their criminal case. However, data from the Danish National Police and the Danish Debt Collection Agency indicate that juveniles do not have the means to repay their debt and are thus indebted as they commence adulthood. This article examines the psychological impact of this debt on juveniles deprived of their liberty and the impact debt has on their ability to establish a ‘normal’ adult life. By linking the concept of ‘emerging adulthood’ to literature on debt as a risk factor this forms the theoretical basis for the analysis and the human rights discussion. The article concludes that when juveniles’ rights are not sufficiently accounted for in the imposition of legal costs it consequently hampers their rehabilitation and thus their human rights.