B. Bring its domestic laws and regulations into compliance with the Convention and
ensure that the provisions of the Convention prevail whenever there is a conflict
with the domestic law
The legislation passed by Iran’s Parliament in order to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the
Child echoes the Government’s reservation and only adopts the Convention into Iran’s legal
framework, “provided that if at any time or for any reason its content should contradict domestic
laws or Islamic standards, the Islamic Republic of Iran is not obligated to adhere to it.”5 In other
words, the Convention is limited by uncodified interpretive Islamic law and is also subservient to
and superseded by other national laws.6
The Iranian Islamic Penal Code (2013) is largely based on the Government’s interpretation of
Islamic Sharia precepts and contains provisions which directly discriminate between girls and
boys under the criminal justice system. One of the most telling examples is the age of criminal
responsibility, which is set at nine lunar years for girls (equivalent to eight years, nine months in
solar years) and fifteen lunar years for boys (equivalent of fourteen years, seven months in solar
years).7 The Islamic Republic of Iran has not increased the age of criminal responsibility for girls
nor does it seem that the Government has been considering such a change.
Child marriage continues to be permitted under Iranian law, yet the minimum age of marriage is
different based on gender. The legal minimum age for marriage is 13 years old for girls and 15
years old for boys.8 However, children who have reached puberty can marry with parental
consent and court approval.9 The predefined age of puberty under the Islamic Republic of Iran,
and the age of legal majority, is 9 lunar years for girls and 15 lunar years for boys.10 Marriage
before puberty is criminalised in accordance with Article 50 of the Family Protection Act11 and
is punished under Article 646 of the Islamic Penal Code (2013).12 A bill that could potentially
include the prohibition of forced and early marriage for girls under 1813 was under the Iranian
Parliament’s review as of February 2021.
Articles 19 and 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that sexual exploitation of
children in any scenario must be prevented, including while in the care of a parent or a guardian.
5
The Law Allowing Accession of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“NBCRC Law”),
(20 February 1994)
6
See more: NGO Joint submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016
7
Criminal responsibility, Articles 140, 146 and 147 of the Islamic Penal Code, 2013
8
Article 1041 of the Civil Code as amended up until December 2000, NGO Impact Iran Coalition, Joint Submission to the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016,
9
Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
10
Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016, CRC/C/IRN/CO/3-4, paras. 27–28
11
Universal Periodic Review, Iran, 2019
12
Islamic Penal Code (2013), Islamic Republic of Iran, Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
13
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1203136/download; Iran Newspaper, ‘Hamsari ke zendegi nemikonad amma mamnou’ol
khorouj mikonad [A spouse who doesn’t live but bans me from leaving the country],’ 4 October 2015,
2