Bahrain Mirror: The Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security Committee of the Bahraini Council of Representatives recommended the rejection of a proposed law amendment to raise the juvenile age from 15 to 18 years, similar to the Child Act, which defined children to be under the age of 18 years.

During the latest Universal Period Review session, Member States at the United Nations Human Rights Council had recommended that Bahrain raises the juvenile age to 18 years.

The Parliamentary Committee justified its rejection to the proposal by saying that "the philosophy of law on which the Bahraini Child Act was based, which defined the age of children under the age of 18, is different from the philosophy on which the Juveniles Act was based and the penalties and regulations for reform and rehabilitation included within it."

On its part, the Ministry of Interior said it expresses reservation towards the proposal, while the Supreme Council for Women supported trends aimed at unifying the age of the child in all Bahraini law, without further elaboration.

However, Bahrain's Institute for Human Rights was among those who rejected the internationally-claimed proposal, and said limiting the criminal responsibility to those who are 18 years of age "is not considered a matter of protection for human rights, if it is associated with a crime, then the juvenile is the accused."

Arabic Version