In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-
(2) “legal or lawful guardian” means such a person who is, in the interest of the child, appointed or declared by the court as a guardian under section 7 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 (Act No. VIII of 1890);
(3) “child in conflict with the law” means any child who is, subject to the provisions of sections 82 and 83 of the Penal Code, accused of any offence under any existing law or found guilty upon trial;
(4) “child in contact with the law” means any child who has been victim of, or witness to, any offence under any existing law;
(7) “Safe Home” means any certified institute or any such place or establishment, the authority of which carries out the duty of keeping, in safe custody, the child sent thereto under this Act by a Children’s Court, the Child Affairs Police Officer, the Probation Officer or, as the case may be, any other person or authority;
(11) “extended family” means the family of paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, paternal uncle, paternal aunt, husband of father's sister, father's sister, mother's brother, wife of mother's brother, maternal aunt, husband of mother's sister, brother, wife of brother, sister, husband of sister, or the family of such blood relative or any relative by such kinship;
(12) “alternative care” means any measures taken under section 84;
(13) “diversion” means any measures taken under section 48;
(14) “person” shall include any company, association, organisation or, as the case may be, any institution;
(15) “Board” or ‘Child Welfare Board’ means the National Child Welfare Board, the District Child Welfare Board or, as the case may be, the Upazila Child Welfare Board established under sections 7, 8 and 9;
(16) “begging” means, with a view to receiving or collecting money, food, clothes or any other article from any person,
(a) to exhibit or use any child in a public place by way of dancing, singing, reading fortune, reciting holy scriptures or adopting any other tricks, whether by deceptive means or not; or
(b) to cause sore, wound, injury on the body of a child or to mutilatea child through unethical means, and to show or keep such sore, wound, injury and deformity uncovered for exhibition; or
(c) to cause any child to be feeble or lifeless by administering drugs or medicine, or in any other way to exhibit the child as dead;
(17) “child” means any person specified as child in section 4;
(18) “Children’s Court” means any court specified in section 16;
(19) “Child Development Centre” means any Child Development Centre established under section 59;
(20) “Child Affairs Police Officer” means a police officer in charge of the Child Affairs Desk as mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 13;
(21) “Social Worker” means a social worker working in the Department, or the union or municipal social worker working under the Department, or Khalamma (aunty), or BoroBhaia (senior brother) or any other worker of similar rank, irrespective of designation, who is engaged in providing care for children;

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, all persons up to the age of 18 (eighteen) years shall be regarded as children for the purposes of this Act.

(1) For performing functions under this Act, the Government shall appoint one or more Probation Officers in every district, upazila and metropolitan area, as the case may be.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), if any person is appointed as a Probation Officer under any other existing law immediately before the commencement of this Act, he shall continue to work as a Probation Officer under this Act until further direction is given as if he had been appointed as a Probation Officer under sub-section (1).
(3) Until a Probation Officer is appointed for any area, the Government may delegate the responsibilities of the Probation Officer to any Social Services Officer or any other officer of similar rank working in the Department or in different districts or upazilas under the Department.

The duties and responsibilities of a Probation Officer shall be as follows:
(a) if any child, whether in contact with the law or in conflict with the law, is brought or otherwise comes to the police station, where applicable,
(i) to ascertain the reason for bringing or coming thereto;
(ii) to meet the child concerned and provide assurance of all kinds of assistance;
(iii) to communicate and coordinate with the police to categorize the concerned case or complaint;
(iv) to trace the parents of the concerned child and assist the police to communicate with them;
(v) to assess the possibility of bail of the child with the Child Affairs Police Officer or, as the case may be, to undertake diversion upon the immediate assessment of the background of the concerned case;
(vi) to arrange for placing the child in a Safe Home through the Child Affairs Police Officer before producing the child in the court, if it is not possible to undertake diversion or release the child on bail for any reasonable cause; and
(vii) to discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by rules;
(b) if any child, in contact with the law or in conflict with the law, is produced before the Children’s Court;
(i) to stay in the court or be present during the trial and, when necessary, to give company to the concerned child, in so far as possible;
(ii) upon field inquiry, to prepare a social inquiry report considering the conditions and surroundings of the concern
(iii) to ensure legal representation of the child, including legal aid, if necessary, through the District Legal Aid Committee;
(iv) in order to ensure justice for the child, without prejudice to the purpose of sub-clause (iii), to communicate, when necessary, with non-government legal aid organizations and to ensure legal representation of the child; and
(v) to discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by rules;
(c) if any child in conflict with the law is sent to any Child Development Centre or any certified institute, where applicable,
(i) to prepare and maintain a separate file for each child;
(ii) to follow the procedures laid down in section 84 and ensure due care;
(iii) to meet the child at regular intervals or, according to the wish of the child, to pay visits to him at such times as he may demand;
(iv) to observe or monitor, in so far as possible, whether the parents, the extended family or the legal or lawful guardian is properly complying with the conditions of supervision of the concerned child;
(v) to supervise, in person, whether or not the child is properly provided with formal and vocational education;
(vi) to inform the court regarding the behaviour of the child and the effectiveness of the measures taken for the child at regular intervals and submit the report called for by the court;
(vii) to give good advice to the child, make the child sociable, in so far as possible, and render overall support for that purpose; and
(viii) to discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by rules;
(d) in case of children in contact with the law or in conflict with the law, where applicable,
(i) to observe the conditions for diversion or alternative care; and
(ii) to discharge such other duties as may be prescribed by rules.ned child and to submit it before the court;

(1) The Ministry of Home Affairs shall set up a Child Affairs Desk in every police station, by assigning its responsibilities to an officer, not below the rank of Sub-Inspector:
Provided that if there is any female Sub-Inspector working in the concerned police station, the female Sub-Inspector shall be given preference to assign the responsibility of the desk.
(2) The officer in charge of the ‘Child Affairs Desk’ as mentioned in subsection (1) shall be called the Child Affairs Police Officer.

The Child Affairs Police Officer shall discharge the following duties and functions, namely:-
(a) to maintain separate files and registers for the case concerning children;
(b) if any child comes or is brought to the police station
(i) to inform the Probation Officer;
(ii) to inform the parents of the child or, in the absence of both of them, the guardian or the authority in supervision of the child, or legal or lawful guardian or, as the case may be, any member of the extended family, and to notify them about the date of producing the child before the court along with detailed information;
(iii) to provide immediate mental support;
(iv) to arrange for first aid and, if necessary, to send the child to a clinic or hospital;
(v) to take necessary measures to meet the basic needs of the child;
(c) to ensure that the age of the child is being determined correctly or in determining the age, the birth registration certificate of the child or other reliable documents relevant thereto are taken into consideration;
(d) upon joint assessment with the Probation Officer regarding the allegations brought against the child, to take diversionary measures or to arrange for bail after assessing the possibility thereof;
(e) if it is not possible to undertake diversion or release the child on bail due to any reason, to arrange for placement in a Safe Home before producing the child in the court for the first time;
(f) at every month to send all information of child related cases in prescribed form to the Probation Officer and to the Police Head Quarters through Superintendent of Police and, where applicable, to the District Legal Aid Committee;
(g) to discharge such duties as may be prescribed by rules; and
(h) to undertake such other measures as may be required to discharge the aforesaid functions.

Notwithstanding anything contained in section 239 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or any other law for the time being in force, no charge-sheet shall be submitted accusing a child jointly with any adult offender for any offence.

(1) For the purposes of this Act and for the trial of offences thereunder, there shall be at least one court to be called the Children’s Court in every district headquarter and in every metropolitan area, as the case may be.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, for the purpose of sub-section (1), the Law and Justice Division, in consultation with the Supreme Court shall, by notification in the official Gazette, declare one or more courts of Additional Sessions Judge in every district and metropolitan area, as the case may be, as the Children’s Court and, if more courts than one are so declared, it shall determine the local extent of territorial jurisdiction of every such court:
Provided that if there is no Additional Sessions Judge in any district, the District and Sessions Judge of that district shall discharge the duties of a Children’s Court in addition to his own duties.

(1) If a child in conflict with the law or a child in contact with the law is involved in any case under any law whatsoever, the Children’s Court shall have the exclusive jurisdiction to try the case.
(2) If any child is involved in a case together with any adult , the Children’s Court shall, on the basis of separate charge-sheets under section 15, take evidence of the child and the adult separately in separate sittings on the same day, and continue uninterruptedly on the next working day in the same manner until examinations are closed.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of section 18, the Children’s Court shall conduct its sittings according to the provisions of subsection (2) in such place, day and manner as may be prescribed by rules:
Provided that until the rules are made, the Judge of a Children’s Court shall commence and adjourn the sittings according to the provisions of sub-section (2), upon determination of the date, time and place of the trial at his discretion.
(4) The sittings of the Children’s Court shall be held, in so far as possible, in any building or room and in a day or time other than the building or room and the day or time in which the sittings of the regular courts are generally held, and the sittings shall be held in an ordinary room, instead of a courtroom with witness box and the podium surrounded by red-cloth of the usual court, so far as it concerns the case of child only and not the adults.

The jurisdiction of a Children’s Court shall be as follows:
(a) the powers of a Court of Sessions under the Code of Criminal Procedure;
(b) the jurisdictions of a Civil Court in respect of issuing summons, summoning witnesses and ensuring their appearance, producing documents or materials and receiving evidence on oath.