CAT/OP/PER/1/Add.1 3.3 Juvenile detention centres 3.3.1 General issues 89. In paragraph 88 of the Subcommittee’s report, it is recommended that the Code on Children and Adolescents, 70 and particularly Legislative Decree No. 990 (2007), be harmonized with international standards, according to which deprivation of liberty for children and adolescents should be used as a measure of last resort. 90. Some of the provisions contained in Legislative Decree No. 990 71 were abolished or amended through Legislative Decree No. 1204, which amends the Code on Children and Adolescents in order to establish and regulate the imposition of penalties on juvenile offenders. 72 91. Thus, in contrast to what had been established in Legislative Decree No. 990 with regard to the detainment of adolescents, Legislative Decree No. 1204 provides that a custodial sentence is an exceptional measure and is applied as a last resort. It also includes provisions to regulate the imposition of penalties for juvenile offenders. 92. Subsequently, the Code of Criminal Responsibility for Adolescents was adopted through Legislative Decree No. 1348, 73 with the purpose of amending the legislation related to the treatment of adolescents in conflict with the law. The Decree established the Permanent Multisectoral Commission for the Implementation of the Code of Criminal Responsibility for Adolescents, with responsibility for its implementation. 93. This provision incorporates, inter alia, the principle of the best interests of the child, the pro adolescent principle, the educational principle, the principle of specialized justice and the principle of diversion (use of non -judicial measures) or minimum intervention. 94. In turn, it establishes that adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age are responsible for the commission of an offence on the basis of special criminal responsibility, taking into account their age and personal characteristics . 74 95. In this regard, the rights of the adolescent should be comprehensively and simultaneously safeguarded during the process of criminal r esponsibility, and the development and exercise of their rights should be considered as guiding principles and should not be compromised by a negative interpretation of the best interests of the adolescent. 75 96. It also provides that the interpretation and app lication of the Code should take into account all the rights and guarantees recognized by the Political Constitution of Peru and in the special laws on the subject, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international instrument s in force and ratified by Peru, as well as in international standards in the field of juvenile criminal justice . 76 97. In view of the above, it was determined that the deprivation of liberty of adolescents, even when preventive, is an exceptional measure and must be duly substantiated as it is a measure of last resort. The rationale for the measure must __________________ 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 V.17-05867 jurisdiccional-de-las-salas-penales-permanente-y-tr-acuerdo-pleno-jurisdiccional-de-las-penalaspermanente-1395131-1/ Congress of the Republic, Act No. 27337 adopting the New Code on Adolescen ts, El Peruano (Official Gazette) (7 August 2000). Executive branch of government, Legislative Decree No. 1204 amending the Code on Children and Adolescents in order to establish and regulate the imposition of penalties for juvenile offenders, El Peruano (Official Gazette) (23 September 2015). Judiciary, Official Letter No. 2215-2016-SG-CS-PJ of 28 March 2016, p. 5. Executive branch of government, Legislative Decree No. 1348 adopting the Code of Criminal Responsibility for Adolescents, El Peruano (Official Gazette) (7 January 2017). Article I of the Preliminary Title of Legislative Decree No. 1348. Article II of the Preliminary Title of Legislative Decree No. 1348. Article XIV of the Preliminary Title of Legislative Decree No. 1348. 15/27