The Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice were put into final form at the Seventh United Nations congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in September 1985. These rules provide a set of guidelines that have yet to be translated into national policies and programs. The guidelines as well as current juvenile justice practice reflect a consensus that juveniles should not be treated the same way as adults. The rules aim to establish juvenile programming that will promote the well-being of youths and their families. Other concerns are how to improve the competence of people who work with youth, how to handle nondelinquents who require care and protection, and how to improve delinquency prevention efforts in contexts of rapid demographic and socioeconomic change. Formal treatment for juveniles in developing countries rests mainly on the principle of parens patriae and raises the issue of protecting rights and ensuring fair treatment within the framework of law and justice. The formulation of the United Nations Rules should open a new era of legal reform and policy and program development, for which research, training, and technical assistance will be needed.