Abu Dhabi: Abdul Rahman Saeed
The UAE issued Federal Law No. 6 of 2022 regarding juvenile delinquents and those at risk of delinquency, which stipulates that age must be established by an official document.
The law, which will enter into force in the middle of next March, stipulates that the delinquent juvenile “a child who commits a crime punishable in the Crimes and Penalties Act or any other law” who has not reached the age of 12 at the time of committing the legally punishable act shall not be criminally liable, and the Public Prosecution may To order the appropriate administrative measures stipulated in this law to be taken in the case of a delinquent juvenile who has not reached the age prescribed under this article, if it deems it necessary.
According to the law, if the delinquent juvenile who has reached the age of 12 and has not yet reached the age of 16 commits a crime punishable in the Crimes and Penalties Law or any other law, the court shall rule to take whatever judicial measures it deems necessary stipulated in this law. The age of 16 is a punishable crime in the Crimes and Penalties Law or any other law. The court may decide to take whatever judicial measures it deems necessary provided for in this law instead of the prescribed penalties.
The law stipulates that in cases in which the delinquent juvenile may be sentenced to a criminal penalty, 3 rules apply: The delinquent juvenile shall not be sentenced to death or imprisonment. The death penalty or imprisonment committed by the delinquent juvenile shall be replaced by imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years. The term of imprisonment that is imposed on the delinquent juvenile may exceed half of the maximum limit prescribed for the original penalty. In all cases, the imprisonment penalty that may be imposed on the delinquent juvenile in accordance with this article shall be executed in the juvenile institution, and if the delinquent juvenile has reached the age of 18 and is still He has a remaining period to be transferred to the penal institution or institution to implement the remainder of the penalty, and the delinquent juvenile is not sentenced to financial penalties.
The law also stipulates that the following legal guarantees apply to the delinquent juvenile upon his trial: If the delinquent juvenile commits more than one crime before a judgment is passed against him in one of them, he must be tried for it as a single crime, provided that the penalty prescribed for the most severe crime is passed. In other cases prior to the issuance of the judgment, the court may suffice with the judicial measures or the penalties imposed on him.
The law specified 8 judicial measures that the court may impose on the delinquent juvenile in the event of a conviction of a crime, including electronic monitoring, community service, compulsory vocational training, and placement from a health facility. In all cases, more than one measure may be ordered.
The law stipulates that the trial of the delinquent juvenile takes place in private and in the presence of a child protection specialist, and only his guardian, witnesses, lawyers, and those authorized by the court to attend may attend it. The court has a lawyer, and the state bears a fee for his efforts, as indicated in the Code of Criminal Procedures.
The law specified 7 controls when investigating a delinquent juvenile that must be taken into account, including: Iron handcuffs or any kind of restrictions that restrict the movement of a delinquent juvenile may not be placed except in cases specified by the executive regulations of this law, and the delinquent juvenile must be given the opportunity to express his opinions freely and be His opinions shall be given due weight in accordance with his age and maturity.
The law stipulates that a delinquent juvenile may not be held in precautionary detention, provided that if the circumstances of the case call for taking a precautionary measure against him, the Public Prosecution may order that he be placed in a juvenile institution, provided that the period of placement does not exceed one week, unless the court agrees to extend it for a maximum period of 30 days. From depositing the delinquent juvenile, the order is to be handed over to his guardian, provided that he is committed to submitting it at every request. It is prohibited to publish the name and photos of the delinquent juvenile, or to publish the facts of the investigation or the court, or its summary, or summary of the judgment, in any means of publication, media, or social communication, and in any way whatsoever. The court or the Public Prosecution Office did not allow this.
The law also stipulates that there is a social danger to the child and he is feared of being subject to delinquency in 11 cases, including: if he is found practicing what is not considered a legitimate means of living, if he is repeatedly absent from home or running away from school, if he is found carrying any weapon or tool that may Endangering the safety and lives of others, and the juvenile institution may take 5 disciplinary measures, including reprimands, warnings, deprivation of some benefits, and social isolation.
The law stated that whoever is handed over the juvenile to him and refuses to present him to the competent authorities upon his request or deliberately refrains from following up on after-care programs shall be punished with a fine of not less than 5 thousand dirhams and not more than 30 thousand dirhams, and shall be punished with imprisonment and a fine of no less than 50 thousand. Dirham or one of these two penalties, whoever shelters a juvenile delinquent in violation of a judicial ruling issued against him or encourages him to violate it or helps him to do so.
And the law indicated that whoever exposes a juvenile to one of the cases of delinquency is punishable by imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than 50,000 dirhams by helping him or inciting him to conduct it or facilitating it in any way, even if the case of delinquency is not legally achieved, and the penalty is imprisonment for a period of time. Not less than two years and a fine of not less than 100,000 dirhams whoever prepares a juvenile to commit a crime or performs an act of preparation, facilitation or completion to commit it, or incites him to commit it, even if the juvenile did not actually commit it, and the penalty shall be imprisonment for a period of no less than 3 years and a fine that is not Less than 200 thousand dirhams if the offender uses coercive or threatening means with the juvenile, and the offender shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of no less than 5 years if he commits these acts with more than one juvenile, even at different times, and it is considered an aggravating circumstance if the offender is the guardian of the child, and the punishment multiplies with the number of children .
The law stipulates that whoever publishes without permission the name and pictures of the delinquent juvenile or publishes the facts of the investigation or trial or its summary or summary of the judgment in any means of publication, media or social communication shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than 50 thousand dirhams. And by any means, and shall be punished by imprisonment or a fine of not less than 10 thousand dirhams, whoever obstructs or prevents the employees of the juvenile institution from carrying out their duties or obstructs their work without the support of the law.