Abstract
The provision for a minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) is stated in a number of international children’s rights instruments. The preamble of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that a child, by reason of his physical, mental and emotional immaturity is in need of special safeguards, care and assistance. Despite remarkable improvements in a number of provisions, an examination of the Iran’s laws and regulations reveal that the provision of MACR is currently in conflict with the international instruments particularly the UNCRC. This is despite the fact that Iran is a State Party of the UNCRC since. Furthermore, the Iranian Civil Code expressly provide that the government is to implement the UNCRC provisions as an international treaty. This article critically examines the position of the MACR and punishments of children in the new Islamic Punishment Act of Iran (2013) based on the four Islamic categories of punishments namely Hadd, Qisas, Diya and Ta’zir as enshrined in the new Act. The current article places emphasis on the examination of the issue of MACR in Iran and how effectively it is addressed by the new Act. The nature of this research is doctrinal by examining the new Act of Iran 2013 with a critical legal overview on the Articles relating to children and their impact on the rights of children. Furthermore, it compares the relevant Articles on MACR and punishments of the new Act with the previous abolished Act and the international standards. The purpose is to highlight both the limitations and advancements of the new Act. In the final analysis, this article concludes that despite the improvements in the field of children’s rights in the new Act, it still poses potential risks for the rights of the children in Iran.
Highlights
The interplay between children and crime has always been a contentious issue; for whilst no one like to think of a child as a perpetrator of crime neither can we tolerate nor fully understand the factors contributing to the formation of delinquency among youth
The protection offered to a child in relation to criminal responsibility, is limited only to children who have not reached the age of puberty under Islamic jurisprudence through Note 1 of the Article 1210 Civil Code
Article 91 of the new Act states: “In the cases of offenses punishable by Hadd or Qisas, if mature people under eighteen years do not realize the nature of the crime committed or its prohibition, or if there is uncertainty about their full mental development, according to their age, they shall be sentenced to the punishments prescribed in this chapter
Summary
The interplay between children and crime has always been a contentious issue; for whilst no one like to think of a child as a perpetrator of crime neither can we tolerate nor fully understand the factors contributing to the formation of delinquency among youth. The protection offered to a child in relation to criminal responsibility, is limited only to children who have not reached the age of puberty under Islamic jurisprudence through Note 1 of the Article 1210 Civil Code. The definition of the age of puberty in the Civil Code has been used by the previous Islamic Punishment Act to determine the age of criminal responsibility for boys and girls. Judges may not hold girls under nine lunar years and boys under 15 lunar years criminally responsible for their actions or omissions (Article 146) This was already the practice under the previous Act, but the new Act includes a specific provision codifying the age requirement..
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