Juvenile Criminal Responsibility and Liability to the Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia - Essay Example

?Research Proposal: Research topic: Juvenile Criminal Responsibility, Liability to the Death Penalty and the age of majority in Saudi Arabia. The keyresearch question in this research is whether juvenile capital punishment exists in Saudi Arabia? Does Saudi Arabia go along with international laws regarding juvenile punishment? And what are the key problems associated in this regard? Purposes: This research on juvenile crimes and capital punishments in Saudi Arabia has much significance in the current context. This study or research tries to understand the nature of juvenile capital punishments in Saudi Arabia including voices that oppose it as well as statistics on capital punishments. Moreover the research also looks into debates for and against capital punishments along withy voices from human rights organizations. Capital punishment to juveniles is deplorable because according to social activists and psychologists, juveniles are not in a frame of mind to understand properly the seriousness of crime during the time of its occurrence therefore; giving capital punishment is not justified. Juvenile delinquency is a broad based term that is given to juveniles who commit crimes. In many legal systems, the term juveniles are defined by different legal systems around the world in relation to age. However the age to attain majority is different in different countries. For major crimes the court may decide whether the person should be treated as an adult or a child (Christensen .2010). Saudi Arabia has the distinction of having a tough law irrespective of child or adult. It has also a dubious record of executing juveniles. In the international arena, juvenile death penalty is prohibited. Moreover the convention of the rights of the child, in which Saudi Arabia is a member, prohibits capital punishment to individuals under the age of eighteen. In Saudi Arabia, there is no codified penal law establishing the acts that constitutes criminal offences. It also does not have published official information’s and interpretations of shariya law. Judges enjoy the discretion to decide and interpret shariya percepts in criminal cases. Moreover the court has also discretionary power to impose death penalty as a discretionary punishment for other acts as well if it feels to be criminal. In November 2008, the shura council which is an appointed authority in the parliament passed a measure to increase the general age of attaining majority from fifteen to eighteen. This measure was undertaken due to opposition from various quarters including international human rights groups. (Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan: End Juvenile Death Penalty. 2010). Death penalty to juveniles was in the hot seat of debate for some time now. Although juveniles are executed in few countries including US major opposition comes from US itself (Reaves.2001). Human rights group argue that death penalty to juveniles is a barbaric affair. They argue that juveniles are too young to understand the seriousness of a crime (Trying children as adults. 2010). Moreover some juvenile offenders are themselves victims of crimes including physical and sexual child abuse. However persons who support capital punishment is of the view that person who is old enough to kill is old enough to die for it (Saudi Arabia executed at least two juvenile offenders in 2009.2010). Saudi Arabia is a party to the convention on the rights of a child which prohibits capital punishment to children. However the officials still claim that they strictly follow the guidelines of the convention. Most of the trial proceedings in Saudi Arabia take place inside closed doors without adequate legal representation. Both children and adults are often convicted on the basis of confessions that are obtained under duress, which includes torture as well as other ill treatments during detention (Amnesty International Press Release. 2009). Despite serious international intervention and pressure exerted on Saudi Arabia, it has not seriously thought of banning juvenile executions conclusively (Saudi Arabia: End Juvenile Death Penalty. (2006).Another major problem faced in Saudi Arabia is that determination of juveniles are made based on physical characteristics like appearance of public hair, occurrence of menstruation, occurrence of wet dreams etc these determinations have more chance of getting into wrong conclusions (JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY). Article 37a of the United Nations convention on rights of children has forbidden execution of juveniles under the age of eighteen. All countries including Saudi Arabia have sighted this agreement excluding Somalia and United States (First Comprehensive Policy Study.2009). This prompts the lawmakers in these countries including Saudi Arabia to escape from such guidelines and is free to execute juveniles. It has to be noted that there should be a common ground or basis to determine the status of a juvenile and that has to be accepted by all the countries around the world. Then only the convention guidelines of rights of children could be effectively implemented. In Saudi Arabia, the respective governing officials along with the support of the government should take serious steps to stop juvenile executions and they should do more for the welfare of children which would prevent children from committing crimes (Cantore.2010). Theoretical framework: I will be guided most generally by the interpretive and investigative perspective in this research. Perspective places the focus on interpreting the meanings and perspectives, and how these meanings are negotiated. I am exploring the meanings of the juveniles, family members and authorities for themselves as individuals and for their relationships, as well as their roles in the situations led to juvenile capital punishments. The situational approach directs me to choose one or a few specific interactions to explore in depth. Thus, a suitable means of investigating the topic from this viewpoint is observation of conversation, plus interviewing the interactants to understand the meanings they have for their emblematic interactions as well as reviewing available literatures. Method: Data collection from primary sources is somewhat difficult because of the secrecy prevailing in the country. Data from secondary sources is easily available from international sources like magazines, databases, websites; literature etc. primary data is to be collected through questionnaire and interviews with officials, victims, relatives of victims, human rights watchers and other authenticated persons. Following are the steps: 1. Conduct a literature review on juvenile capital punishments all around the globe especially in Saudi Arabia. 2. Observe the juveniles, focusing mostly on conversations with them if possible, especially those conversations in which the juvenile discloses the situations. 3. Interview family members and authorities to clarify and provide insight into conversations. I will attempt to conduct these interviews shortly after conversations of attention. While the interviews will not be official or prearranged, the kinds of questions I will ask depend on the situations I would face at the time of the interview. The general plan for the interviews is to start off with open questions and follow up on the interviewee’s answer, to capture his meanings and to shun striking my meanings on the interviewee. 4. Undertake a situational analysis of the field notes and interview notes. 5. Write a research description that combines my understanding of the relevant situation and previous research with the results of my observed research. Timetable: Prepare proposal by 1 April. 2011 Complete literature review by 16 April Complete fieldwork by 23 May Complete analysis by 30 May Give presentation on 4 June Complete final report by 17 June Chapter outline: 1. Introduction 2. Objectives of the study 3. topic 4. findings 5. conclusions References: Amnesty International Press Release. (2009). [online]. Available from:http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGUSA20090511001 Accessed on 8 March, 2011. Cantore.T. (2010). Laws on Juvenile Capital Punishment. [online]. Available from: http://www.ehow.com/list_6516206_laws-juvenile-capital-punishment.html Accessed on 8 March, 2011 Christensen .T.E. (2010). What is Juvenile Delinquency?. [online]. Available from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-juvenile-delinquency.htm. Accessed on 8 March, 2011. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan: End Juvenile Death Penalty. (2010). [online]. Available from: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/10/09/iran-saudi-arabia-sudan-end-juvenile-death-penalty Accessed on 8 March, 2011. First Comprehensive Policy Study on Trying and Sentencing Children as Adults Finds 22 States May Sentence Children as Young as 7 to Adult Prison. (2009). [online]. Available from: http://www.utexas.edu/news/2009/07/28/children_criminal_justice/ Accessed on 8 March, 2011. JUVENILE DEATH PENALTY(n.d). [online]. Available from: www.worldcoalition.org/modules/wfdown Accessed on 8 March, 2011 Reaves.J. (2001). Should the Law Treat Kids and Adults Differently?. [online]. Available from:http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,110232,00.html#ixzz1FzcjHwb1 Accessed on 8 March, 2011. Saudi Arabia: End Juvenile Death Penalty. (2006).[online]. Available from: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0601/S00425.htm Accessed on 8 March, 2011. Saudi Arabia executed at least two juvenile offenders in 2009.(2010). [online]. Available from: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/10/09/iran-saudi-arabia-sudan-end-juvenile-death-penalty Accessed on 8 March, 2011. Trying children as adults. (2010). [online]. Available from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NIV/is_1_6/ai_n25059984/. Accessed on 8 March, 2011. Read More