Document Type : Article
Author
Assistant Professor, Criminal Law and Criminology Department, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The International Criminal Court (ICC) provides child victims with special protection. This paper aims to delimit the scope of such a protection in light of the law and procedure of the ICC. The Rome Statute provides substantial protection for children’s rights by criminalizing specific behaviors against children, such as using child soldiers in armed conflicts, or crimes which affect children, including attacking schools. In practice, prosecuting crimes against children is prioritized by the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC. Moreover, child victims are procedurally supported by the Court. They have a right to participate in the Court’s proceedings as both a witness and a victim. Criminal liability for persons under the age of 18 has not been recognized, but their crimes could be prosecuted after this age. Nevertheless, their prior victimhood might be taken into account in determining their sentence as a mitigating factor.
Keywords
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