Nonetheless, this amendment still did not address the problem of prolonged detention time for juvenile detainees prior to trial. 56. So far, the Ministry of Justice has yet to establish or promulgate any relevant regulations governing the management of juvenile inmates. Each juvenile detention house, whether established independently or not, adopts a prisonlike and high-security guard approach toward juvenile inmates. Some juvenile detention houses even directly apply the management and security for adult inmates under the Detention Act and Prison Act to incoming juvenile inmates, as well as visitation controls and life management. While these related practices have their legal ground, and can effectively prevent incidents, such as fighting and escape, they are still contrary to the idea that juveniles should be taught, not punished, and against international human rights standards. After investigation and subsequent follow-up by the Control Yuan, the Agency of Corrections has taken into account the international practices in juvenile corrections and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to deliberate on a draft amendment to Implementation Regulations Governing Detention Treatment of Juvenile Detention Houses. 57. The current policy directing the decentralized establishment of juvenile detention houses is used with the intent of providing convenience for family visitations and court trials. For the true purpose of protecting children and juveniles, however, assignment of dedicated professionals in special education, psychological counseling and medical care should be the first priority. It is also necessary to provide resources in education and welfare. Recently, there has been a sharp decline in the number of juveniles held in various juvenile detention houses. The decentralized establishment of juvenile detention houses cannot effectively utilize judicial resources any longer. The Judicial Yuan and Ministry of Justice should explore the feasibility of concentrating inmates into regional detention houses. For the mid-term/longterm goals, the legislation in Japan and Korea may serve as a reference, and these establish open school-like detention houses, with visitor-friendly facilities, in line with international human rights standards. 58. The statutory causes allowed in a ruling rendered under the Juvenile Justice Act include cases where “the juvenile cannot be committed to custody” and where “an order for custody is clearly inappropriate.” This in actual operation also involves cooperation with other agencies and issues such as referral and counseling. Therefore, some divide still exists between theory and practice in the actual process of a trial. In order to implement the specialized trial of a juvenile court, the Judicial Yuan should exercise its powers as the supreme judicial administration authority to integrate resources and set forth relevant operating procedures as reference for the juvenile court judges. It should also consider whether the compulsory assistant system, i.e. allowing a person to accompany and argue for a defendant with diminished capacity, should be 28