A/HRC/31/69 in the country and called on the Government to rescind reservations that sanctioned judicial disregard of the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. They also called on the Government to define juveniles as anyone under the age of 18, in line with Convention standards, and to raise the age of criminal responsibility without discriminating between boys and girls. In its response, the Government argues that there is a lack of consensus regarding the age of mental maturity for a child and adolescents, and that juvenile offenders may be executed only after they reach 18 years of age. 21. Amendments to the Islamic Penal Code in 2013 repealed capital punishment for juveniles found guilty of drug-related offences. Article 91 of the code requires a judge to assess the mental capacity of juvenile offenders before issuing a death sentence to determine if they understood the consequences of their actions at the time they committed hudud-related crimes, such as adultery or rape, or retribution-related crimes such as murder. In January 2015, the Supreme Court issued a ruling requiring that all courts retroactively apply the new amendment for cases adjudicated prior to 2013 if juvenile defendants petitioned for a retrial of their capital convictions.7 The Government also notes that it has undertaken efforts over the years to prevent executions of juveniles convicted of retribution-related crimes such as murder, where the right of retribution rests with the families of the victims. 22. The Special Rapporteur has received reports suggesting that some child offenders on death row have not taken advantage of this new ruling, in part because they are unaware of its existence. He has also seen reports indicating that the Supreme Court has rejected several petitions for retrial and affirmed the death sentences of at least six juvenile offenders, one of whom was executed in 2015, and reports suggesting that the criteria used by courts to assess mental capacity vary widely and are applied inconsistently by courts around the country.8 The Government refutes the allegation. B. Criminal Procedure Code 23. Parliament adopted a number of amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, which came into effect on 22 June 2015.9 The amended code was much celebrated and praised by government officials for the level of protection it affords to those suspected of crimes. During an interview with the State-run Islamic Republic News Agency in July 2015, the head of the judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, stated that “the criminal procedure code [had] undergone many reforms to protect the rights of the accused”.10 The National Union of Bar Associations of the Islamic Republic of Iran also welcomed the adoption of the new code, asserting that while the law now contained many positive innovations that might be unprecedented in the history of legislation in the country, it had some problems that needed to be resolved.11 24. The Special Rapporteur maintains that one of the most important achievements of the Code of Criminal Procedure is improved protections for access to legal counsel, especially during the interrogation of suspects by either law enforcement or judicial officials. Article 48 of the code provides that the accused can request access to counsel as soon as he is approached by law enforcement officials or during criminal proceedings, and article 190 guarantees the right of the accused to have access to a lawyer during the 7 8 9 10 11 6 See www.rrk.ir/Laws/ShowLaw.aspx?Code=2460 (in Persian). See www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/3112/2016/en/. See www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde13/2708/2016/en/. See http://khabaronline.ir/detail/428897 (in Persian). See www.mehrnews.com/news/2852676/ (in Persian).