Ariticle37Children in detention
- No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;
- No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;
- Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;
- Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.
This Article requests that when a minor child is arrested, the liberty deprived by the detention of the child be minimized. By recognizing the right to promptly access legal assistance in order to obtain appropriate knowledge and measures prior to a hearing or other important proceedings related to sentencing, the article reduces the risk that the child will be made to tell unfavorable information.
In Japan, a minor under the age of 14 cannot be arrested; instead, the minor is notified to the Child Consultation Center. If the minor is 14 years of age or older, the police have the authority to arrest the minor, however, they are not allowed to take the minor into custody if it is recognized that there is no need for a trial. In addition, a minor's trial is held in a juvenile court, and in order to protect the minor's rights, observation of the trial is not allowed.
