Facts
[A.], born on November 26, 1994, has been held in pre-trial detention since December 18, 2011 under the suspicion of, in particular, unauthorized use of motor vehicles, thefts, property damage, home invasions, illegal possession of firearms, and drug consumption. On July 23, 2012, the Public Prosecutor's Office submitted the indictment to the Juvenile Court of the Canton of Geneva and requested that this court refer the case to the Compulsory Measures Court (Tmc) so that the accused could be placed in detention for safety reasons.
On July 27, 2012, the Juvenile Court ordered the detention for safety reasons on its own initiative. [A.] appealed this decision to the Tmc, disputing the existence of a request for detention for safety reasons and the competence of the Juvenile Court to rule on this matter.
By judgment of August 10, 2012, the Criminal Appeals Chamber of the Geneva Court of Justice partially upheld the appeal, considering that the Juvenile Court was competent to order detention for safety reasons, but that it had violated the right to be heard. The case was remanded to the Juvenile Court for a prompt decision.
Considerations
According to the Federal Tribunal, even though the Federal Act on Criminal Procedure for Minors (PPMin) does not expressly state this, the notion of "compulsory measures" within the meaning of Articles 26(3) and 34(5) PPMin includes detention for safety reasons. Thus, when the prosecution is brought before the juvenile court, the latter becomes competent to order this coercive measure.
The Federal Tribunal rejects the appellant's argument that the accumulation of the functions of the trial judge and the detention judge would be inadmissible. In juvenile criminal proceedings, the legislator did not…