Responding to Delinquent Children in Afghanistan's Criminal Policy

Abstract

There may be various methods and different criteria to deal with children's offending, which are defined based on the approaches of the criminal policy of the countries. This article aims to explain the approach of Afghanistan's penal policy towards the responding to delinquent children, which has been investigated using descriptive-analytical method. the legislators have mostly used protective and corrective actions and measures, considering the principle of minimum punishment, protecting the rights and interests of children, and also paying attention to the adverse effects of widespread criminalization and punishment. The measures foreseen in the criminal laws have been established by observing important criteria such as being corrective, dynamism and adaptability, and favorability to the accused, which are completely supportive. On the other hand, by using their legal powers, judicial officers can take into account the above criteria in determining the punishment and how to apply it to the accused and take appropriate actions according to the personal case of the accused. That Afghanistan's criminal policy against children's offending has a unified and moderate approach, and is more focused on rehabilitation of the offender, rather than merely punishing him/her.