years at the time of the commission of the offence.” The Committee further recommended
member States to “ensure a non-discriminatory full application of their child justice system to all
persons below the age of 18 years at the time of the offence.”8
With regards to proceedings, the Special Office of the Prosecutor for Children is assigned to
conduct investigations of offences committed by children between 15 and 18 years old.
However, in cases of zena (“adultery” or “fornication”), lavat (“male-male anal penetration”),
“offences against decency”, as well as some ta’zir offences (crimes carrying discretionary
punishments) and in cases of crimes committed by children under the age of 15, investigations
are directly conducted by the court and the judges who preside over the trial, in contradiction
with international standards.9
Iranian law does not prescribe any limit on pretrial detention of defendants under 18. Nor does
Iranian law present any procedural safeguards to protect the privacy of child defendants. In
addition, there are no separate procedures for initiating investigations and issuing warrants
against children or separating children vulnerable to domestic violence from their parents.
The Iranian judicial system has established several procedural mechanisms to administer juvenile
justice. However, the Islamic Republic still lacks a distinctive and comprehensive juvenile
justice system that is geared toward the best interest of the child. While there are positive aspects
to the new juvenile courts and juvenile branch of the criminal courts, these developments fail to
bring Iran’s juvenile justice system in line with the Convention. Neither court system is
constructed around the best interest of the child, nor are there any legal provisions requiring
judges to take the best interest of the child into account during criminal proceedings. 10
Designate specialized judges for children and ensure that such specialized judges receive
appropriate education and training.
The Court for Children and Adolescents can convene with one presiding judge and one advisor.11
The judges serving in the Court are directly appointed by the Head of the Judiciary. They must
have at least five years of judicial experience. Other criteria such as their marital status, age, and
whether they are parents themselves will be assessed in determining their eligibility for the
position.12 The Court will be assigned a number of male and female advisors, who are appointed
8
General comment No. 24 (2019) on children’s rights in the child justice system, CRC/C/GC/24,
https://undocs.org/CRC/C/GC/24
9
See more: Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1327082016ENGLISH.PDF
10
See more: Joint alternative report by civil society organizations on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child by the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2015,
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CRC/Shared%20Documents/IRN/INT_CRC_NGO_IRN_19809_E.pdf
11
Code of Criminal Procedure, 2015, Article 298.
12
Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 409
2