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Defence for Children International Beijing Rules ADJUDICATION AND DISPOSITION
The Rules emphasise several fundamental principles: the principle of proportionality, minimal use of deprivation of liberty and the well-being of the juvenile. Where a juvenile offender has not been diverted and has proceeded to a formal trial, the proceedings should be conducive to the best interests of the juvenile and conducted in an atmosphere which allows the juvenile to participate and express himself/herself freely. The juvenile should have the right to legal representation and to apply for free legal aid where such a system exists. The parents or the guardian should be entitled to participate in the proceedings. The competent authority should be empowered to either compel them to appear or to exclude them from the proceedings where this is necessary in the interests of the juvenile. Prior to sentencing the background and circumstances in which the juvenile is living, or the conditions under which the offence has been committed, should be the subject of a social inquiry report in order to facilitate the adjudication of the case. Both capital and corporal punishment are specifically prohibited for any crime reiterating binding treaty standards. In a case decided before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 1967, it was proposed by the commission that a norm of international customary law establishing 18 to be the minimum age limit for the imposition of the death penalty was emerging. The implications of this decision, albeit non-binding, indicate that a State which pursues a policy of judicial execution of children may now be in breach of international law even where it has not ratified the relevant treaties.
Disposition Measures
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