CRC/C/GC/24 allowing the publication of so much information as may be necessary. A court should only permit such publication where it has determined, after hearing submissions that it is in the interests of justice to do so. 80. Furthermore, the Committee recommends to the State parties to introduce rules permitting automatic removal from the criminal records of children who committed an offence upon reaching the age of 18, and in the case of serious offences to allow removal at the request of the child, if necessary under certain conditions (e.g. not having committed an offence within two years after the last conviction). 81. The Committee recommends that all States parties introduce the rule that court and other hearings of a child in conflict with the law be conducted behind closed doors. Exceptions to this rule should be very limited and clearly stated in the law. If the verdict/sentence is pronounced in public at a court session, it should be done in such a way that the identity of the child is not revealed. Furthermore, the right to privacy also means that the court files and records of child offenders should be kept strictly confidential and closed to third parties except for those directly involved in the investigation and adjudication of, and the ruling on, the case. With a view to avoiding stigmatization and/or prejudgements, records of child offenders should not be used in subsequent cases in adult proceedings involving the same offender (see the Beijing Rules, rules 21.1 and 21.2), or to enhance future sentencing. E. Measures (see also section B above) Diversion throughout the proceedings 82. The decision to take a child through the juvenile justice system does not mean the child must go through a formal court process. In line with the observations made above in section B, the Committee emphasizes that the competent authorities - in most States the public prosecutor - should continuously explore the possibilities of avoiding a court process or conviction, through diversion and other measures. In other words, efforts to achieve an appropriate conclusion of the case by offering measures like the ones mentioned above in section B should start before a trial commences and should continue throughout the proceedings. The nature and duration of these measures offered by the police, the prosecution or the judge may still be demanding, and legal or other appropriate assistance for the child is then necessary. The performance of such a measure should be presented to the child as a way to suspend the formal court process, which will be terminated if the measure has been carried out in a satisfactory manner. 83. In this process of offering diversion at the level of the police, prosecutor or investigating judge, the child’s human rights and legal safeguards should be fully respected. In this regard, the Committee refers to the recommendations set out in paragraph xx above, which equally apply here. Dispositions by the juvenile court/judge 84. After a fair and just trial in full compliance with article 40 of CRC (see section D above), a decision is made regarding the measures which should be imposed on the child found guilty of the alleged offence(s). The laws must provide the court/judge, or other competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body, with a wide variety of noncustodial measures to avoid institutional care and deprivation of liberty, which are listed in a non-exhaustive manner in article 40 (4) of CRC, to assure that deprivation of liberty be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible period of time (art. 37 (b) of CRC). 85. The Committee emphasizes that the reaction to an offence should always be in proportion not only to the circumstances and the gravity of the offence, but also to the personal circumstances (age, lesser culpability, circumstances and needs including if appropriate the mental health needs of the child), as well as to the various and particularly long-term needs of the society. A strictly punitive approach is not in accordance with the leading principles for juvenile justice spelled out in article 40 (1) of CRC (see paragraphs xxxx above). In cases of serious offences by children, measures proportionate to the 16