Trabalho enviado em 03 de agosto de 2015. Aceito em 04 de novembro de 2015. DOI: 10.12957/rqi.2016.18008 Resumen El articulo plantea un recorrido por los modelos de justicia juvenil desarrollados a lo largo de la historia del pensamiento contemporaneo para centrar la mirada en el sistema de responsabilidad promovido por los organismos internacionales y el debate en torno a la alternativa planteada por la justicia restaurativa. Asimismo se reflexiona sobre las modificaciones de caracter represivo procesadas en los ultimos anos en las legislaciones espanola y uruguaya implementadas despues de su adecuacion a los tratados internacionales suscriptos por ambos paises a comienzos de siglo. Estas modificaciones legislativas responden a una mutacion punitiva de los Estados occidentales que intentan responder a las demandas ciudadanas con propuestas populistas que, lejos de resolver el problema de la seguridad publica, lo colocan en el centro de la agenda politica. Palabras clave: modelos de justicia juvenil, responsabilidad, infancia, adolescencia, justicia restaurativa. Abstract The article presents a journey through the juvenile justice models developed throughout the history of contemporary thought to center the look on the accountability system promoted by international organizations and debate around the alternative proposed by restorative justice. Through a comparative analysis the repressive modifications processed in recent years in the Spanish and Uruguayan legislation implemented after its adaptation to international treaties signed by both countries at the beginning of the century are reviewed. Attend the debate that arises around the model of restorative justice as an alternative to the prosecution of the youngest members of society of caring a type of practice limited to the transgressions under adolescents, which could involve the extension of the control social system actions that would not be punishable in the juvenile criminal justice model suggested by international governing bodies in the field. Keywords: models of juvenile justice, responsibility, childhood, adolescence, restorative justice.