The new approach to children and juvenile delinquency over the past century has led to a differential attitude in dealing with them. This differential approach is manifested through the establishment of special regulations for delinquent children and juveniles and the prohibition of applying certain general provisions, such as the rules on recidivism. However, in the absence of specific regulations, recourse to general provisions is possible provided that they align with the best interests of the child. Electronic monitoring is among the measures that have been introduced for adolescents in various legal systems, including the United States and the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the law of Iran remains silent regarding its specific application to children and adolescents. Consequently, its implementation is faced with ambiguities such as determining the scope of its application, the possibility of its application to correction and rehabilitation centers, the possibility of its application to individuals sentenced to such centers due to the commission of ḥadd crimes falling under Article 91 of the Islamic Penal Code, as well as the possibility of utilizing this measure as an alternative for pretrial detention for adolescents.
This article, adopting a descriptive-analytical method, examines these issues and concludes that, based on the principle of the best interests of the child, the application of electronic monitoring is permissible both as a method of punishment and as a pretrial detention alternative.