(iii) the juvenile justice database should be strengthened; (iv) there should be
introduced an alternative to sanctions and prison detention; (v) safe homes should be
established in every district and at every divisional level; (vi) social integration for
juvenile offenders should be promoted; and (vii) there should be juvenile courts in
every district. The BNHRC notes that although the Children Act 2013 is a very positive
measure, a few of its very important recommendations have not been incorporated into
the newly enacted Children Act.115
84. The BNHRC’s recommendation that the minimum age of criminal responsibility
should be raised to 12 years has not been followed in the Children Act 2013.116 The
BNHRC also observes that the new law does not contain specific provision about
length of pre-trial detention and allows for imprisonment of the child in case of an
offence.117 The BNHRC is of the opinion that provisions relating to Post-trial Captivity118
and Alternative Measure to Deprivation of Liberty119 should be revised in line with the
jurisprudence developed by the Committee. The BNHRC also thinks that the maximum
time limit for completing a trial should be lowered.120
85. In this connection, the BNHRC wants to highlight that a 2009 review of
Bangladesh’s implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by
the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child while acknowledging improvements such
as removing some children from adult jails, establishing child development centres and
training legal professionals in juvenile justice, also observed that many children
continue to be tried in regular adult criminal courts, often without legal representation,
and are sentenced as adults. The BNHRC noted that the situation indicated by an
earlier study that there had been no accurate statistical information available on the
number of children who came into contact with the law121 more or less still prevails.
86. The BNHRC observes with concern that there were only three specialized juvenile
courts. In State vs. The Secretary, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and
others 15 MLR (HCD) 2010 P 59-83where the Supreme Court stated that until such time
as Juvenile Courts involving children would be set up in each district, there must be a
court dedicated to hear cases involving children, otherwise the requirement of the law to
have expeditious and exclusive hearings by juvenile courts would be violated. The
BNHRC thinks that the judgment of this case is still relevant even though a new law has
been enacted in 2013, and wishes to see full implementation of the judgment.
115
The National Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2012, p. 45.
Section 3 of the Penal Code makes the minimum age of criminal responsibility 12 years if the Court is
satisfied that the child did not have sufficient maturity to understand the consequence of his/her action
at the time.
117
Supra 15, Section 33(1).
118
A child guilty of an offence which is punishable with death or imprisonment for life should be detained
in a Child Development Centre (CDC) for a period not less than 3 years and not more than 10 years. A
child found guilty of an offence not punishable with death or life imprisonment may be
119
Ibid, Sections 29 and 34(2).
120
Ibid, Section 32.
121
Ibid, Section 41.
116
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