Authors: Nisrine Abiad and Farkhanda Mansoor

Published: 2010

Cover: Paperback

Pages: 385

Through analysis of legislative and judicial actions in a selection of Muslim and non-Muslim States in relation to the rights of the child in criminal matters, this study aims to identify possible harmonization between the obligations of the international human rights law (e.g. the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) and the criminal justice systems within each State, particularly Islamic law (Sharia).

This book features chapters on child offenders in criminal law and Islamic law, and country reports from rapporteurs on Afghanistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Spain, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Among other issues, the authors discuss:

• The definition of 'child' in criminal law

• Rights for child offenders under international law (UNCRC, the Beijing Rules)

• Rights of the child under Islamic regional instruments

• Islamic law as it relates to child offenders

• The age of criminal liability

• The death penalty

• The role of the judiciary in criminal cases within Muslim jurisdictions.

Theoretical and comparative research methods highlight that the position of Islamic law on the age of criminal liability and the legal rights of child offenders is nuanced, both through the various ways Islamic criminal law is implemented, and the role of the judiciary in expanding the protection of juvenile offenders.