The Transplanted Appropriate Adult Scheme in China

Mou, Yu

Abstract

Borrowed from England and Wales, the Chinese Appropriate Adult Scheme involves a dynamic of selective adaptation. This article analyses two salient features of the appropriate adult scheme within the Chinese context, in comparison with its counterpart in England and Wales: its complementarity of the juvenile's parent, and the passive role that appropriate adults play during pretrial interrogations. Drawing upon empirical evidence, the article argues that the transplanted Chinese appropriate adult scheme has failed to oversee the legality of interrogations, nor does it provide adequate safeguards for juvenile suspects. The concept of vulnerability that lies at the heart of the appropriate adult safeguard in England and Wales appears to be lost in translation. Rather than providing a safeguard for juveniles at their most vulnerable, the appropriate adult is more concerned with indulging the needs of the interrogators in China.

Citation

Mou, Y. (2021). The Transplanted Appropriate Adult Scheme in China. The Howard journal of crime and justice, 60(1), 25-45. https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12393

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 10, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Sep 17, 2020
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 18, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 18, 2020
• Journal: The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice
• Print ISSN: 2059-1098
• Electronic ISSN: 2059-1101
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 60
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 25-45
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12393
• Keywords: appropriate adult; China; juvenile criminal justice; legal transplant