D
SAFEGUARDS FOR JUVENILES ARE NOT APPLIED TO TERRORISM TRIALS
According to Section 14 of the JJSO, the law does not repeal other laws but applies “in addition” to
them. Since the enactment of the JJSO, jurisprudence by superior courts has been unable to
uniformly address the jurisdiction of juvenile courts over crimes for which special courts have
been enacted, particularly terrorism. As a result, juveniles continue to be tried as adults by special
courts whose procedures fail to comply with internationally agreed fair trial standards and are
sentenced to death.
CONCLUSION AND RECOM MENDATIONS
The current juvenile justice system fails to meet international standards particularly in its consistent failure in
identifying and extending protections to juvenile offenders and therefore, is unable to fulfil Pakistan’s international legal obligations to protect juvenile offenders from capital punishment.
These fundamental failing and international human rights obligations necessitate that the Government of
Pakistan do the following:
A
Reinstate the moratorium on the death
penalty and launch investigations into
cases where juvenility is alleged.
B
Formulate and enforce Age Determination Protocols.
C
Admit post-conviction reviews on the
basis of new evidence.
D
Publish data on juveniles on death row.
E
Amend the Anti- Terrorism Act, 1997.
F
Implement the Presidential Notification.
DEATH ROW’S CHILDREN
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