Justice for Children in Bangladesh: Legal and Ethical Issues

Abstract

Reform of the child justice system has started with the enactment of the Children Act 2013 in Bangladesh. The Act adopted a number of institutional setups for child-friendly justice i.e. child help desks in the police station, separate children’s court, child development centres, national child welfare board etc. These all are interlinked and the responsibilities of concerned authorities have been focused on the law. In practice, most of the children are deprived of their fair justice in different phases i.e. police arrest, prosecution, court hearing, and correctional treatment as there is a lack of professional ethics of concerned personnel. Ethical approach, skill, and knowledge of personnel are major challenges for the treatment of offender children. Thus, code of ethics is important for professionals to provide value-based justice for the best interest of the children. The study focuses on the legal and ethical responsibility towards the child justice system in the country to protect child rights and their childhood.