Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Graduate of Master of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Chalus Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalus, Iran
2
Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran
3
Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Since the right to a fair trial is considered a fundamental component of the criminal justice system in a democratic society, children and adolescents accused of violating criminal laws also possess this right. They should benefit from the same guarantees related to fair trial as adults throughout the proceedings. However, they may require additional support due to their vulnerability. Accordingly, the right to “effective participation in the hearing” is one of the issues that is of great importance in the criminal justice system of children and adolescents and has created the special rights of this group. This right, on one hand, has a practical and utilitarian concept, where it serves as a tool to ensure that the child or adolescent understands the nature of the trial process and can exercise their right to defense. On the other hand, it has a composite and multifaceted concept, surrounded by a significant list of requirements, and only with the formalization of these requirements can effective participation be achieved. In this regard, this article employs a descriptive-analytical method to elucidate the position of the subject in a comparative manner within international standards and the criminal justice system of Iran. The findings and results of the present research indicate that the requirements of this subject are largely congruent and aligned within these two systems. However, the complete realization of these requirements in the legislative and judicial systems of Iran necessitates that, on one hand, the legislator specifies certain obligations that have thus far been overlooked (including the oral and adversarial or contentious nature of proceedings and the public disclosure of issued verdicts) and, on the other hand, the existing practical and operational challenges within the court practices for children and adolescents in this regard need to be addressed.
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