The Youth Conference Rules (Northern Ireland) 2003

Convening youth conferences

3.—(1) Where a reference has been made under Article 10A or 33A of the Order the co-ordinator shall –

(a) make all reasonable efforts to visit the child within 5 working days of receipt of the reference (in the case of a diversionary youth conference) and within 5 working days of the reference (in the case of a court-ordered youth conference) and establish whether the child is able and willing to participate in a youth conference and, if so, consult with him in relation to –

(i) the date on which, and the time and place at which, the youth conference is to be held,

(ii) the persons whom the child considers should participate in or attend the youth conference;

(b) inform the child of the procedure to be adopted at the youth conference;

(c) fix the date on which and the time and place at which the youth conference is to be held;

(d) take all reasonable steps to ensure that notice of the date on which and the time and place at which the youth conference is to be held is given, orally and in writing, a reasonable time before the youth conference is to be held to –

(i) the persons set out in Article 3A(2) and (6) of the Order, and

(ii) any other persons whom he allows to participate in or attend the youth conference under Article 3A(8) of the Order,

always provided that no notice is required to be given to any person whose whereabouts cannot, after reasonable enquiries, be ascertained; and

(e) contact the victim of the offence in order to explain the procedure of a youth conference to him and to establish whether he wishes to participate in the youth conference.

(2) Failure to give notice to any person in accordance with paragraph (1)(d) shall not affect the validity of the youth conference unless it is shown that the failure is likely to have materially affected the outcome of the youth conference.