82

The Juvenile Court judge, responsible for legal protection of children and for judging infractions committed by minors, is confronted with adolescent violence directed either against the self or the other. This article is based on a paper delivered in a conference on adolescent aggressive and suicidal behavior. The aims of the article are, one, to sketch out some problematic features in dealing with so-called difficult adolescents, and two, to find common features in evaluating aggressive and suicidal behavior of adolescents and in judicial responses to such acting out. To this end, the article presents the penal code applicable to delinquent youth, and the process of educational support.