The cases illustrate that there is need to improve the procedures for affecting the arrest of
children and that deficiencies in the criminal justice system can have a direct impact on children.
The award of damages does little to undo the psychological harm to the children accused of
committing crimes. There exists a need to strengthen the criminal justice system, and particularly
ensuring that officers are mindful of their role and how it is to be properly discharged especially
when dealing with children.
C) Nature of Sentencing
The CRC sets out general prohibitions against the imposition of certain types of sentences on
juvenile offenders. Article 37 of the CRC prohibits the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment against children. It also sets out and the right of detained children to be
treated with dignity.167 Article 37 also prohibits the imposition of the sentence of capital
punishment and the sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of release on persons
below eighteen years of age. Article 6 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also
prohibits the imposition of the death penalty on children.168 The international instruments
illustrate that generally international law only imposes restrictions on sentences where necessary
to protect the physical and mental integrity of the child.
In Trinidad and Tobago, the procedure for the sentencing of a child found guilty of a crime is
regulated by Section 83 of the Children Act.169 It sets out the sentences which may be imposed
on a child or young person, which includes the dismissal of the charge, committal to the care of a
relative, the payment of a fine or sending the offender to an Industrial School or Orphanage.
An examination of the domestic legislation reveals that the imposition of capital punishment on
persons below the age of eighteen has been abolished by Section 79 of the Children’s Act.170 The
167
Supra fn 1 at Article 37
UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 16 December 1966, United
Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b3aa0.html, Article
6 [accessed 12 March 2013]
169
Supra fn 14 at s83
170
Supra fn 14 at s79
168
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