Bahrain : Attorney-General, Ali bin Fadhl Al-Buainain, has stated that since the issuance of the “Corrective Justice Law for Children and their Protection from Ill-Treatment” in February this year, the Public Prosecution has strived to put in place all necessary procedural requirements for its implementation.
Within the preparations of the Public Prosecution to implement the restorative law for children, which takes effect on August 18, the Attorney-General issued Edict 39/2021 on the establishment of the Execution and Aftercare Office at the Family and Child Prosecution.
The Office will be responsible for implementing and following up on of the verdicts and orders issued by the Corrective Justice Court and the Childhood Judicial Committee, established under the new law, as well as supporting and strengthening the child’s aftercare system, in coordination with the relevant authorities, in a manner that ensures the best interests of children.
Edict 39 also stipulates the establishment of an electronic system for the office in which the provisions, orders, decisions and actions taken to implement them are recorded, in addition to the creation of an electronic file for each child subject to a penalty or measure in which the procedures taken related to implementation are listed.
On the other hand, the Attorney-General also issued Edict 40/2021, amending the competencies of the Family and Child Prosecution in light of the provisions of the Corrective Justice Law for Children and their Protection from Ill-Treatment.
The edict includes the procedures to be taken regarding children when they are criminally treated, exposed to danger or subject to ill-treatment. It also determines the way they are investigated in a criminal case in accordance with the law, as well as the procedures to be followed when replacing penalties with other measures.
The Attorney-General, out of his keenness to achieve the best interests of children, issued written instructions to all the members of the Public Prosecution on ways to deal with children when they are criminally treated, exposed to danger or subject to ill-treatment, the interests to be taken into account, and ways to coordinate with the Labour and Social Development Ministry’s Child Protection Centre in case children are subject to danger.
He also gave directives to Appeals Prosecution to carefully review the rulings issued in cases in which an adult is accused of committing a crime against a child, or if it is committed by one of their ascendants, a person responsible for their supervision and upbringing, or those who have authority over them. The aim is to ascertain that the sentence imposed is commensurate with the seriousness of the crime and to ensure maximum protection for them.
The Attorney-General asserted that the Prosecution has completed all preparations for the commencement of the implementation of law and its provisions, noting that the restorative justice law for children is the fruitful outcome of a civilised intellectual vision that crowns the kingdom’s legislative and institutional efforts to care for children and respect their rights in the present and the future, in accordance with the best international standards.
He added that law stipulates raising the criminal responsibility age to 18, involving children in national rehabilitation and educational programmess and subjecting them to measures aimed at reforming their conduct and reintegrating them into their families and society.
The law also approved the special treatment of delinquent children aged between 15 and 18, while ensuring their rights to privacy, be heard, have their demands understood, have access to legal and judicial assistance and legal representation, as well as to health and social assistance.
The law also regulates the aspects of cooperation and coordination between the authorities and the concerned parties, and relies on the studies of specialised experts, to ensure that verdicts and orders issued against children are based on a comprehensive and clear vision of their social, health and psychological conditions, the Attorney-General also said.
