The GLOSSARY of the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) comes into being for the purpose of collecting together the terms that form part of the jargon most commonly used by professionals and employees involved in juvenile justice around the world.

Being conscious of the concurrent diversity between the different models and systems of juvenile justice, this Glossary wishes to highlight the meeting points and the differences between the various terms collected and their translations in English, French and Spanish.

Without doubt this represents the result of a comprehensive research effort, with the team of the International Juvenile Justice Observatory taking part in the preparatory process, along with the support and collaboration of other professionals and organizations.

The Glossary is a useful and practical tool which, through the terms included, aims to facilitate a greater comprehension and understanding of the different concepts that define juvenile justice systems on an international level.

The drafting process was carried out using national and international sources, which assisted us in delimiting the list of terms to be included, and the content of the definitions given.

In any case, the designations and terms included in the Glossary, as well as the content of each definition, in no way represent any stance or assessment on the part of the IJJO with respect to any particular juvenile justice system or model.

All of the sources used in the process of preparing the Glossary