The aim of the Child Justice Act is to establish a criminal justice system specifically geared for children in conflict with the law, Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Jeff Radebe said on Thursday.

"This is in recognition of the fact that the normal criminal justice system often fails to deal with the peculiar challenges facing children, such as their inability to understand the consequences of their actions," he said at the launch of the Child Justice Act in Soweto.

The Act comes into effect on April 1 and will assist with the diversion of children away from the mainstream criminal justice system.

The Act makes special provision in a case where a child shows remorse, with a plan developed to address the original crime in such a way that the child does not enter a continuous cycle of crime and violence.