PREPAIRED BY;

Mark Yuvraj Sarkar

Recommendation on necessary
ID-0752120008131006
Semester-5th
amendment to Children Act 2013.
Department of Law
Cox’s Bazar International University CRIMINOLOGY

Prepared for,
Afshana Akter Tuly
Lecturer, Department of LAW,
COX’S
USERBAZAR INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY;

Recommendation on necessary amendment to Children Act 2013. CRIMINOLOGY,

MARK Yuvraj Sarkar, Dept. of Law, CBIU
Table of Contents
 Introduction
 Regulatory framework protecting children in Bangladesh
 Children act 2013
 Critical analysis of domestic standards to protect children
 Legal reforms should take to protect children in Bangladesh.
 Conclusion
 References

“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it
treats its children."

Nelson Mandela

INTRODUCTION

The Children Act, 2013 reflects the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC). It seems some provisions have been incorporated in response to directions of the Supreme
Court as well as the requirements of other international instruments such as the Beijing Rules.
Child protection is the protection of children from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect. For
protecting the rights of the child that the Children Act, 2013 need to proper implementation (Islam,
2020).

If that the Act gets proper implementation children be protected in and out of the home. If
that the Act gets proper implementation girls and boys will be protected from violations such as
abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking and work in hazardous conditions, as well as harmful
practices, including child marriage.

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK PROTECTING CHILDREN IN BANGLADESH

Bangladesh adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990.
Bangladesh also has many laws regarding child protection. Article 14 and 15 of the Constitution
guaranteed the social security of children. Article 28 gives the country the ability to execute any
special law to serve the interests of children, although Article 34 excludes children to perform hard
work.

Although the measures to solve this problem are lacking, the Constitution impeccably
covers this problem. In the early days of the nation’s founding, Bangladesh officially focused on
children. It was not until the mid-1990s that children who were in conflict with the law were legally
considered. There were no cases brought by the High Court Division under the Children’s Act of
1974, and no appeals against children were involved (Malik, 2007). The first case including a child
who was in conflict with the law was in Satkhira (State vs Deputy Commissioner, 1993, para. 266).
Since then, the fairness of children who are fighting with the law has attracted the attention of
stakeholders. In different executives, legal and administrative mediations, this expanded
consideration is obvious. Many laws are designed to protect children from careless, ruthless, abuse
and exploitation, and to promote their development.

The Children Act 2013 is a basic law that not only considers casualties and accusations, but
also cares for and protects future generations, and determines the strengthening of children. The
main goal of this Act is to ensure the protection and treatment of the child.

The Penal Code of 1860 stipulated that children under the age of 9 are not liable for criminal
acts, and if children between the ages of 9 and 12 do not have sufficient understanding, they will
not be liable for offence (Section 82 and 83 of the Penal Code 1860). The Code also punishes any
individual who incites or authorizes illegal interaction with a young girl under the age of 18.

Children Act 2013

The new ‘Children Act 2013’ abolished the Early Children Act of 1974. The law perceives some
associations and individuals and notices their obligations. The new demonstrations are in line with
the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” which is mentioned in the preamble.

According to the Children Act of 2013 of the Ministry of Home Affairs, there are
children’s desks at every police station across the country. Officials at or above the sub-inspector
are taking care of the work area. The demonstration confirmed the duties of the designated police.
The Child Welfare Board was established under the leadership of the Minister of Social Welfare
(Section 7 of the Children Act, 2013).

According to the demonstration, the charge sheet composed of adults and children together
cannot be submitted (Section 15 of the Children Act, 2013). In any case, a juvenile court will be
formed in every district or metropolitan area. If there is an opportunity to record evidence against
a child, no matter what violations he/she has done, the juvenile court will try him/her. Accordin g
to the provisions of section 16 of this Act, judges of the District and Sessions Judge or the
Additional Sessions Judge shall constitute the juvenile court. According to the Children Act 2013,
no matter what the situation is, it is impossible to capture children under 9 years old. If there is
little chance of catching children over 9 years old, the police cannot tie the rope or handcuff the
child (Section 44 of the Children Act, 2013). If a child is committing a crime, the odd number will
be punished by the most extreme long-term detention or a fine of 500,000 taka or both. As
mentioned in section 33, it does not include the death penalty, life imprisonment or the detention
of guilty children. Moreover, section 28 of the Children Act of 2013 stipulates: “Children involved
in a case pending in court testimony provider or any child or any of the pictures, news or reports
printed or electronic media or on the Internet or in the media shall not be directly or indirectly
related to the identity of the child (Kamruzzaman, 2015).” To protect children, Bangladesh has
adopted National Policies and Action Plans.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF DOMESTIC STANDARDS TO PROTECT CHILDREN

Since the establishment of the nation, child coverage has been declared as one of the
foundations of Bangladesh National Policy. Article 17 of the Constitution compels the state to
make a commitment to take all feasible measures like free and compulsory education for all
children to reach the stage prescribed by law. According to Article 18 of the Constitution, the state
is committed to providing special arrangements for children. In addition, Articles 27, 28, 29, 31,
34, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41 guarantee the basic privileges of all citizens. Specially, all sorts of forced
labour are prohibited, and the legal remedy are available under the Constitution if the rights
violated. It is important also to mention here that the Bangladesh Constitution does not prohibit
child labour. It only contains certain articles that affect children. The country’s current laws on the
work of children also follow this. These do not restrict the child labour, but give certain norms on
child protection. To reiterate, the current local laws, for example, Bangladesh labour law do not
mention agriculture, small leisure businesses and domestic work as child labour. As a reslt, more
than 80% of child’s earning flows are not covered by the labour law (Maria and Watkins, 2019).
Therefore, it is difficult to calculate the true pace of child labour, and it is actually difficult to
protect them from abuse through legal strategies (Ibid.).

The base period of criminal responsibility has been increased in 2004 from 7 years to 9
years, but in fact it has not reached the 12-year-old age mark recommended by the Committee on
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and minors at the age of 16 may be sentenced for the
death penalty. The capture, imprisonment and condemnation of children are usually subjective and
sometimes illegal while physical abuse and torture are applied during the arrest and interrogation.
The law requires separate detention rooms for children and adults, but many children including
those who are expected to be detained, are imprisoned with adult detainees. The Children Act 1974
requires courts at all levels to follow special juvenile court methods when hearing cases involving
children under the age of 16 (Howe and Covell, 2010) When a child is accused of unbillable crime
and cannot be taken away immediately under the stable watch of the court, the officer in charge of
the police station can release him/her, unless the child may take him with any possible criminal
association or protect him from moral hazard or loss at the ends of justice (Section 48 of the
Children Act, 1974). The captured child will be taken to the police station and the responsible
officer will immediately inform the parents or guardian about the situation. Whenever they are
exposed, they will be coordinated to the court. Before that, the children will be notified to appear
in court and make sure on the appearance of the date (Section 13(2) of the Children Act, 1974).

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has always expressed concern
about the organization of the juvenile justice system and has made clear recommendations to the
Bangladesh government to make juvenile court consistent with the Convention on the Rights of
the Child. Nevertheless, most of the current children equality laws in Bangladesh originated from
the current global juvenile justice principles. The Children Act of 1974 and the Children Rules of
1976 are designed to ensure the ultimate interests of children during each legal continuation period
and have set up some basic protection measures. They also have a separate juvenile court and
prohibit joint preliminary trials of crimes committed by adults and children. The law covers both
children who are in conflict with the law and children who need care and insurance, and these two
children are often rarely separated. Hence, due to lack of infrastructure, children who are struggling
with the law usually cannot get protection (Mohajan, 2014).

The government is committed to ensuring child security, but it needs deep understanding
and reliable arrangements. The Children Act of 1974 is a broad running and reformist instrument
that governs the function of the state in providing insurance to children. Its focus is on equality
during adolescence, and the chance of treating cruelly treated children is greatly reduced. Besides,
the responsible carrier does not have extensive knowledge of this. The law prohibiting child labour
is only related to the official exchange area, but most children working in temporary labour are
neither guided by the law nor inspected by any government agency. In any case, NGOs usually
only solve a series of safety issues that children have seen, and will not abide by guidelines and
responsibilities. The local community cannot perceive all types of brutality and abuse, and the
current community structure that manages such problems has no regular influence on the
necessities of children. Therefore, policy development measures are usually mild and dark.

Bangladesh is probably the slowest acceptance on the planet, which makes it difficult to
protect children from trafficking, child labour, child marriage and other childhood abuses
(Rahman, 2018). The government proclaimed a series of laws and clear strategies to prevent
dealing with girl’s child. The Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 1993 imposed
severe penalties on forcing girls into prostitution. The 1993 Act and the Children Act of 1974 tried
to protect children from exploitation and dangerous environments. The 1992 Anti-Terrorism
Regulations criminalized widespread physical oppression, including the kidnapping of girls and
minors. The Penal Code of 1860 made severe arrangements and penalties for hijacking and
trafficking. The 1995 "Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act" was replaced by the
Prevention of Women and Children Repression Act 2000, which determined the sale of women
for prostitution or illegal or corrupt purposes, import or fare, sale or lease or participation in it.
Other types of girl trafficking penalized by life imprisonment and fines. The acts for illegal or
corrupt purposes (for example, prostitution, unauthorized marriage, or restricted or falsely induced
mating) is punishable by life imprisonment or ten years in prison and a fine. Illegal adoption,
delivery, sale of children, trafficking children or transferring children to another place be subject
to the death penalty or life imprisonment. Nevertheless, the necessities of these laws are powerless,
especially in rural areas. The government has also enacted laws that explicitly prohibit certain
types of victimized women, including the Dowry Prohibition Act 1980 and the 1983 ‘Cruelty to
Women Ordinance (Sarker and Pandey 2006).’

LEGAL REFORMS SHOULD TAKE TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN BANGLADESH

Several measures must be taken for those who violate the law for children who need safety.
It should use measures from the children of the traditional justice system, such as using alerts or
cautions and alternative dispute resolution. Steps should be taken to establish a framework to
enable the police to remain vigilant in the event of a possible arrangement and transfer power to
the person deemed appropriate, thereby compelling that person to be obliged to maintain the child
appearance with a steady eye. Furthermore, government authorities that violate the law and restrict
children to police care must give punitive punishment. A confinement period of up to 24 hours
must be carefully authorized. To add a statutory law must be adopted to limit the period of time
during which juveniles can be detained in advance to ensure that the time during which they are
deprived of their liberty is set as a basis. If the child is weakened during the monitoring period, it
is normal to forgo clinical treatment. Also, an appropriate method should be established to ensure
that children can be clinically examined at the police station. Hereafter, the enactment of laws
should clearly require that children be separated from adults for all purposes of detention or
freedom and hardship.

Although the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 clearly stipulates that women should be
treated by women, there are no written rules or strategies for children. The law is uncertain whether
children should be separated from adults in the police. Although boys may be held in solitary
confinement in police cells for criminals who might be separated from adults, the law does not
recommend guidelines on the quasi-opportunity of child girls at the police station overnight.
Basically, it was not mentioned that where the child will be kept usually before the magistrate
appearance. Article 33(1) of the Constitution guarantees the privilege of legal consultation.
Nevertheless, the Children Act does not make any unique arrangements for police handling of
minors. The Code of Criminal Procedure arrangement on remand may apply to children over 16
years old, and suspects can be dealt without legal counsel. In addition, shortly afterwards the arrest,
the probation officer, guardian or janitor also should be known about the captive children (Islam
and Jahan, 2018). The legal commitments made to the police by the Children Act 2013 and the
1898 Criminal Procedure Code must be strictly observed. Policies and guidelines should be
developed that require children to obtain legal help. In addition, clear legal arrangements should
be accepted, and the sanctions that should be taken seem to prove to be obtained through torture
or ill-treatment. Also, the enactment laws should guarantee payment and changes to children who
have been abused or ill-treated in the police station or are initially detained. Furthermore, the
government should ensure autonomous inspections of detention rooms including the police station.
The government should also ensure that attempts are made to inspect girl’s child detention
facilities and make sure that the investigation team includes women. Besides, the existing public
screens, such as “Prison Visitors”, should reveal their findings.

Old ancient laws must be excluded, and new laws must be passed that temporary cover
area not currently under the bill. In the event of a change in local laws, the government may retain
the principles set by global standards. In accordance with its established commitments and
obligations to the global principles of children (CRC and the International Labour Organization’s
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182), it is clear that the government should take the
lead in seeking treatment targets for child labour in order to meet long-term improvement needs.
Therefore, the most important recommendations are those in the National Task Force on child
labour and education, the recognition of the foundation between the investigation and strong
enforcement of the Labour Law (2006), and the urgent need to expand the delayed child labour
sector, and ensure that the department can fully perform its duties and capabilities (Kabeer, 2019).
Issues related to children are handled by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, and the
Ministry of Labour and Employment handles issues related to work. In any case, no service is fully
approved to manage child labour issues. From now on, to monitor issues related to child labour,
precise services should be provided in a single Ministry.

CONCLUSION

In Bangladesh child abuses are common matters and both children and parents are not
aware about the child rights. Bangladeshi children are deprived from basic rights to education,
balance diet, health and nutrition, protection, participation, recreation, safe water, sanitation, and
hygiene. The rights of children are violated due to poverty, ignorance, lack of social consciousness
and discrimination. The laws and policies regarding child labour, physical punishment, violence
against girls, sexual exploitation, imprisonment of children with adults, trafficking, child marriage,
and other aspects of child protection are routinely violated. In most cases, people are not aware of
the laws and take these violence as common matters. Regulatory reforms also should introduce
based on legal research to protect children in Bangladesh.

REFERENCES
 Hosen, Billal. (2015). “Social Relations, Health Problems and Coping Strategies of Street-Connected
Girls in Dhaka City.” Ph.D. Dissertation. University Institute of Lisbon. Howe, R. Brian and Covell,
Katherine. (2010). Miseducating Children about Their Rights. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice
5 (2): 91-102.
 Islam, M. Zahidul and Jahan, Asma. (2018). Disability Rights: Challenges and Opportunities in
Bangladesh. Journal of Asian and African Social Science and Humanities 4 (2): 45–51. Islam, M.
Zahidul, and Rahman, Mashiur. (2015). Corporal Punishment: The Case of a Child Abuse by a
Malaysian Couple in Sweden. Advances in Environmental Biology 9 (17 S3): 9-12.
 Islam, Monirul, Alim, M. Abdul, Chandra, H. Shamal, Mohiuddin, Md., and Kumar, S. Asim (2019).
Assessment and Analysis of the Overall Situation of Women and Children: Bangladesh Scenario
Assessment and Analysis of the Overall Situation of Women and Children: Bangladesh Scenario.
International Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research 1 (4): 26–39.
 Kabeer. Naila. (2019). The Evolving Politics of Labor Standards in Bangladesh: Taking Stock and
Looking Forward. In Banerjee Saxena, Sanchita, (ed.) Labor, Global Supply Chains, and the Garment
Industry in South Asia: Bangladesh after Rana Plaza. Routledge: London, pp. 7-37.
 Kamruzzaman, Md. (2015). Child Victimization at Working Places in Bangladesh. American Journal
of Applied Psychology 4 (6): 146-159. Malik, Shadeen. (2007). Impact of State Intervention on Children
in Conflict with the Law. Dhaka: Save the Children. Mandopi, Kevin. (2016). Protection of the Child
from Degrading Treatment in Tanzania: A Critical Assessment of the Law and Practice. Journal of
Asian and African Social Science and Humanities 2(4): 70–85.
 Mohajan, Haradhan. (2012). Lack of Consciousness of Child Rights in Bangladesh. Berlin: LAP
LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Mohajan, Haradhan. (2014). Child Rights in Bangladesh. Journal of
Social Welfare and Human Rights 2(1): 207-238.
 Quattri, Maria and Watkins, Kevin. (2019). Child Labour and Education – A Survey of Slum
Settlements in Dhaka (Bangladesh). World Development Perspectives 13: 50–66. Rahman, M. Mahbub.
(2018) Child Trafficking in Bangladesh. International Journal of Research in Economics and Social
Sciences 8 (1): 150-162.
 Rashid, Mamunur. (2007). Letting Eve-Teasing Go Unpunished,” The Daily Star, September 30,
available at https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-5952. Rosli, Najwa, Nabilah H., Ahmad Z., and
Dusuki, Farah N. (2019). Regulating the Protection and Rehabilitation of Victims of Internet Child
Pornography in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences
9(5): 450–469.
 Sarker, Profulla, and Panday, Kumar P. (2006). Trafficking in Women and Children in Bangladesh: A
National Issue in Global Perspective,” Asian Journal of Social Policy 2 (2): 1–13.