Child Act 2001

The Child Act 2001 is a Malaysian law which served to consolidate the Juvenile Courts Act 1947, the Women and Young Girls Protection Act 1973, and the Child Protection Act 1991.^[1] It was enacted partially in order to fulfill Malaysia's obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, it retains the option of corporal punishment for child offenders.^[2] In December 2004, members of the legal community suggested that the law needed review, despite its newness, in order to clarify its criminal procedures.^[3] One example of the Act's unclarity was brought to light in a 2007 case involving a 13-year old convicted of murder. Under Section 97(1) of the Act, capital punishment may not be applied to children; Sections 97(2), 97(3), and 97(4) make provisions for alternative punishments for offences which would result in the death penalty if committed by adults, namely detention at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. However, Section 97(2) was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2007 on the grounds that it violated the Constitution of Malaysia's doctrine of separation of powers, leading to the situation that no punishment at all could be rendered.^[2]

The Act was meant to give further protection to a child offender.^[4] There are however a number of shortcomings missing from the Act. Besides the uncertainty of detention period under Section 97, another omission is the maximum length of the remand order. For an adult offender, Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides for a maximum of 14 days remand. Section 84(2) of the Child Act simply allows the court to make a remand order without prescribing the maximum length of remand. This problem was subsequently remedied in a 2003 case which held that the Criminal Procedure Code would govern the remand period of a child.

With regards to the trial procedure, an adult accused has the option to give a sworn evidence, unsworn evidence, or remain silent. The Child Act does not provide for any right to remain silent. Section 90(9) merely allows the child to give sworn or unsworn evidence.

Additional protection

The Act has provided extra protection for a child offender especially with regards to the privacy of the child. The trial for the Court for Children shall be in closed court (in camera). Only certain specified persons are allowed to attend the trial. There now a legal duty for the parents of the child to attend the trial.

It also contains provisions to protect the child from associating with adult offenders in prison or elsewhere.

References

1. ^ "Malaysia Child Act 2001". UNICEF. http://unicef.org/malaysia/protection_4209.html. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Hussein, Ranita (2007-08-05). "Comment: Crime, punishment and the child offender". The New Straits Times. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Columns/20070805074650/Article/index_html. Retrieved 2007-09-25. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Theophilus, Claudia (2004-12-07). "Bar Council: Child Act needs urgent review". Malaysiakini. Archived from the original on 2007-09-07. http://google.com/search?q=cache:ZZukx_MtarsJ:www.malaysiakini.com/news/31933+%22+Child+Act+2001%22&hl=zh-TW&ct=clnk&cd=2. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
4. ^ Singh Sidhu, Baljit (May 2003). "An Overview of the Child Act 2001 and the Criminal Procedure Aspects". The Malayan Law Journal 2. 

External links

• "Laws of Malaysia, Act 611: Child Act 2001" (PDF). 2001. http://www.parlimen.gov.my/actindexbi/pdf/ACT-611.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-25. ^{[dead link]}

This legislation article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Malaysia stubs Statute stubs 2001 in law Malaysian legislation Child safety Children's rights Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Delhi Park Edict of Compiègne Look at other dictionaries: Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 — The Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 was implemented by the Steve Bracks Labor government in the state of Victoria, Australia. It was effective from 1 January 2002.The ActThe explicit purposes of the Act are to;* To promote racial and… …   Wikipedia Child benefit — (children s allowance) is a social security payment disbursed to the parents or guardians of children. Child benefit is means tested in some countries. Contents 1 Australia 2 Ireland 3 Japan 4 Swed …   Wikipedia Laws regarding child pornography — Main article: Child pornography 94 of 187 Interpol member states had laws specifically addressing child pornography as of 2008.[1][2] Of those 94 countries, 58 criminalized possession of child pornography regardless of intent to distribute.[1]… …   Wikipedia Child destruction — is the name of a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Hong Kong. The offence of that name has been abolished and replaced in Victoria. Child destruction is the crime of killing an unborn but viable fetus; that is, a child… …   Wikipedia Child sexual abuse laws in the United States — have been enacted as part of the nation s child protection policies. Contents 1 Child maltreatment 2 Kansas v. Hendricks 3 Minors inability to consent 4 …   Wikipedia child — n pl chil·dren 1: a son or daughter of any age and usu. including one formally adopted compare issue ◇ The word child as used in a statute or will is often held to include a stepchild, an illegitimate child, a person for whom one stands in loco… …   Law dictionary Child of the Prophecy —   …   Wikipedia Child pornography laws in Canada — forbid the production, distribution, and possession of child pornography. Contents 1 Visual representations 2 Written depictions 3 Dynamic aspects of the Internet 4 …   Wikipedia Child-on-child sexual abuse — refers to a form of child sexual abuse in which a prepubescent child is sexually abused by one or more other children or adolescent youths, and in which no adult is directly involved. The term describes sexual activity between children that… …   Wikipedia child support — child sup·port n: payment made for the support of the children of divorced or separated parents while the children are minors or until they reach an age set by the separation agreement or in a court order compare alimony ◇ Child support is usu.… …   Law dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”