White paper on crime 2012 Part3/Chapter3/Section1/1
A public prosecutor shall institute prosecution regarding a case referred to by a family court if the prosecutor considers that there is sufficient suspicion to institute prosecution.
The criminal procedure for prosecuted juveniles is basically the same as adults. A court shall, by a ruling, transfer a case to a family court if it is found appropriate to subject the juvenile defendant to protective measures as a result of the examination of the facts. In case a juvenile is to be punished with imprisonment with or without work for a definite term with the maximum term of three years or more, the juvenile shall be given a sentence which prescribes the maximum and minimum imprisonment terms determined within the limit of statutory penalty (indeterminate sentence; the minimum and maximum term cannot exceed five and 10 years, respectively) unless with suspension of execution of the sentence. In case a person who is under 18 of age at the time of commission of an offense is to be punished with death penalty, life imprisonment shall be imposed. In case a person who is under 18 of age at the time of commission of an offense is to be punished with life imprisonment, imprisonment with or without work for a definite term may be imposed. In this case, the term of imprisonment imposed shall be neither less than 10 years nor more than 15 years.