4.2 National Framework

4.2.1 The Constitution of Nepal (2072 B.S.) Article 39 (the rights of the child): identity and birth registration; upbringing; the labour bars; the protection bars (no child marriage, trafficking, kidnapping, hostage-taking; no recruitment or use in army, police or armed groups); no torture or cruel treatment; the child-friendly- justice clause — special protection for children in conflict with the law, and for conflict-affected children. Beside it: Article 20's justice guarantees (presumption of innocence, counsel, the fair hearing) apply with the juvenile's modifications; Article 51's child-protection policy. 4.2.2 The Children's Act, 2075 B.S. (2018) The modern consolidation (building on the Children's Act 2048's foundations): the juvenile court- and-bench architecture — the government's duty to form juvenile courts, with a juvenile bench in every district court until the courts exist: the bench composed of the district judge, a social-service provider, and a child psychologist or child specialist; the mixed- case rule (the child-and-adult co-accused case to the regular court's procedure); the graduated liability ladder (the age-bands' reduced measures — reform homes rather than prison); the diversion-and-correction provisions (Unit 5). 4.2.3 The Muluki Criminal Code, 2074 B.S. The general part's juvenile face: the minimum age of criminal responsibility — ten years (the child below ten commits no offence); the juvenile-mitigation discipline for the young offender above the floor. 4.2.4 The Criminal Offence (Punishment…