International Legal Standards for The Prosecution of Juvenile Crimes

Khamraeva Shakhlo Ibragimovna

doi:10.37547/ijlc/Volume05Issue07-03

International Journal of Law And Criminology

12

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VOLUME

Vol.05 Issue07 2025

PAGE NO.

12-14

DOI

10.37547/ijlc/Volume05Issue07-03

International Legal Standards for The Prosecution of
Juvenile Crimes

Khamraeva Shakhlo Ibragimovna

Independent researcher, Tashkent State University of Law, Uzbekistan

Received:

12 May 2025;

Accepted:

08 June 2025;

Published:

10 July 2025

Abstract:

This article is devoted to the implementation of the institution of a plea agreement in cases of juvenile

delinquency.

The article analyzes the legislation related to the introduction of the institution of a plea agreement in cases of
juvenile delinquency.

Keywords:

Criminal proceedings, juvenile delinquency, juvenile defendant, international standards, closed court

session, principle of office work.

Introduction:

The international rules for the conduct of

criminal proceedings are stipulated in international
documents and standards such as The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
European Convention on Human Rights.

In addition to the above-mentioned legal documents,
when courts consider criminal juvenile cases, the

United Nationsнинг United Nations Standard Minimum

Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The
Beijing Rules) (1985) , Convention on the Rights of the
Child (1989) , United Nations Guidelines for the
Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (The Riyadh
Guidelines) (1990) , Rec(2003)20 - Recommendation of
the Committee of Ministers to member states
concerning new ways of dealing with juvenile
delinquency and the role of juvenile justice (Adopted
by the Committee of Ministers on 24 September 2003
at the 853rd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies) and
other international documents takes.

International and European standards define the status
of a minor who is a participant in a criminal process. In
particular, The Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the
Child, adopted in 1924, for the first time recognized
that minors are active participants in social relations. It
specifically defines the complex rights of minors in
these relations, taking into account the fact that they

are not fully formed physically and mentally like adults.

The Beijing Rules, adopted on 29 November 1985,
establish the Conventional status of persons under the
age of eighteen. According to paragraph 8 (a) of the UN
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution
2004/27 Guidelines on justice for child victims and
witnesses of crime of 21 July 2004

, “Every child i

s a

unique and valuable human being and as such his or her
individual dignity, special needs, interests and privacy

should be respected and protected”.

In accordance with the above, international legal norms
establish minimum standards for special procedural
rules on the special protection of juvenile justice. In
particular, the guidelines and recommendations of the
Declaration of the Rights of the Child of the United
Nations General Assembly of 20 November 1959
stipulate that the physical and mental immaturity of a
minor implies his right to special protection.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms, signed on May 26, 1995 recognizes the right
of every minor to the special protection of his family,
society and the State, in accordance with his
circumstances.

In this regard, international rules and standards for the
conduct of cases against minors who have committed
crimes are aimed at strengthening the educational and
preventive impact of justice on the defendant.

International Journal of Law And Criminology

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International Journal of Law And Criminology (ISSN: 2771-2214)

Article 14, paragraph 4, of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on December 16,
1966, states that in the trial of juveniles, the age of the
defendants and the desirability of assisting in their
rehabilitation should be taken into account.

According to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
every juvenile who is accused of, or recognized as
having infringed the criminal law has the right to be
heard and to be heard in a manner conducive to the
development of a sense of dignity and worth, to the
strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms of others, taking into account
the juvenile's age, his or her capacity for self-restitution
and the desire to be helped to take a useful place in
society (Article 40.1). This international legal norm
provides that any procedural action taken against a
juvenile defendant must be carried out taking into
account the above-mentioned rights.

According to the Beijing Rules, a special international
document containing specific recommendations on the
conduct of criminal cases, the justice system is aimed
at ensuring that any measures of influence applied to a
juvenile offender are proportionate to the individual
characteristics of the person and the circumstances of
the crime (paragraph 5). The presumption of
innocence, the right to be informed of the accusation,
the right to refuse to testify, the right to a lawyer, the
right to be present at the trial, and the right to appeal
to a higher court must be guaranteed at all stages of
the trial (paragraph 7). When a juvenile is detained, his
or her parents or guardians shall be promptly informed.
The official or div shall promptly consider the issue of
his or her release. Procedural relations with the
juvenile shall be conducted in a manner that avoids
causing him or her harm (paragraph 10). The detention
of a juvenile shall be used only as a measure of last
resort and for the shortest possible period (paragraph
13). There are also United Nations Rules for the
Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty,
adopted on December 14, 1990.

The European Convention on the Exercise of Children's
Rights, signed on January 25, 1996 states and clarifies
the rights of a minor to be informed of the criminal
proceedings against him/her, to express his/her views
to the court, to be advised and to be informed of the
consequences of the decisions he/she makes in the
case (Article 3), and to choose his/her legal
representative or defense counsel (Article 4).

The issue of preventing the negative impact and
damage to the social status of minors in criminal
proceedings is specifically recognized in international
law. To this end, it is established that the right of
persons under the age of eighteen to confidentiality of

information about them must be respected at all stages
of the proceedings against them.

According to paragraphs 8.1; 8.2; 21.1; 21.2 of the
Beijing Rules, the publication of any information
concerning a juvenile offender is prohibited. In order to
avoid unnecessary publicity that may cause harm to the
young boy or girl or damage to their reputation, the
right to privacy of the juvenile must be respected at all
stages of the proceedings (paragraph 8.1 of the Beijing
Rules). In accordance with this principle, no
information that could lead to the identification of the
juvenile offender should be published (paragraph 8.2 of
the Beijing Rules).

The rules for the application of these requirements are
set out in paragraph 21 of the Rules, which state that:
Case files of juvenile offenders must be kept strictly
confidential and may not be disclosed to third parties.
The circle of persons authorized to access such
materials must be limited to those directly involved in
the case or other persons with appropriate authority.
Case files of juvenile offenders should not be used in
subsequent cases involving the same offender when
investigating adult offenders.

Also, in the criminal procedural legislation of some
foreign countries, restrictions on the principle of
openness in relation to minors are allowed only at the
request of the court.

Uzbek scientist B. Ismailov also emphasizes that "in the
current era, improving international legal norms
regarding the conduct of cases involving juvenile crimes
primarily requires limiting the principle of openness of
court sessions and ensuring the confidentiality of the
process.

Scientist N.I. Siry stated that it is the right of a minor
defendant to have a case heard in closed court, and put
forward his views on the advisability of the defendant
and his legal representative participating in
determining the circle of persons who may attend the
court session.

In our opinion, the minor himself is in need of legal
protection, his legal representative does not have
professional knowledge in regulating relations related
to procedural proceedings, and does not know about
the negative consequences of an open court session for
a minor defendant in the future. Therefore, we do not
agree with the scientist's opinion on determining the
rights of a minor defendant or his legal representative
in this regard.

Scientist S. Sahaddinov, in his scientific work, expressed
the opinion that a minor may have committed a crime
when his moral values have not yet been fully formed
and he does not fully understand its essence. He

International Journal of Law And Criminology

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International Journal of Law And Criminology (ISSN: 2771-2214)

expressed his views that the general public's awareness
of the details of the criminal case in court can have a
serious negative impact on the future life of a minor,
and believes that this category of cases should be
conducted strictly in a closed manner.

Scientist E.B. Melnikova believes that criminal cases
involving minors should be tried in closed court and
that courts should be obliged to do so. In her opinion,
the participation of representatives of the media in the
trial should be prohibited, and only parents and
representatives of institutions dealing with minors
should be present at the court session.

Based on the results of theoretical analysis, it can be
said that the institution of public trial of cases involving
minors is aimed at protecting a person whose mental
state has not yet been fully formed from the negative
attitude of others towards him. Therefore, it is
necessary to consider criminal cases involving minors in
closed court and to clearly specify this requirement in
the legal norms.

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https://www.un.org/ru/about-us/convention-on-the-
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