The latest in each country’s minimum age of criminal responsibility varies around the world, but is low in Australia compared with most European countries. For example, Germany sets the age of criminal responsibility at 14, Portugal at 16 and Luxembourg at 18.
Australia’s Northern Territory: Crime committed by a 10-year-old child carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison
The Northern Territory Parliament of Australia has passed a controversial law lowering the age of criminal responsibility, and children as young as 10 may face imprisonment for committing crimes. This legal revision has sparked discussions in society and the United Nations.
On October 17th, the Northern Territory Parliament passed three amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility and making changes to criminal provisions such as driving into a door to commit robbery and boasting about one’s criminal behavior online. According to the latest legal amendment, children over the age of 10 who commit crimes can be sentenced to up to 10 years of imprisonment. The Chief Minister of the Northern Territory government stated that the federal government had previously raised the age of criminal responsibility, but had not taken measures to address criminal behavior among children aged 10 and 11. The new legislation will create better opportunities for the Northern Territory government to intervene in early childhood life. About 100 people gathered outside to protest during the debate on the bill in the Northern Territory Parliament on the 16th. The protesters stated that “a 10-year-old child is still wet” and questioned “what should be done if a member’s child commits a crime”.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child believes that the minimum age of criminal responsibility should be set at 14 years old or above.
Compared to many countries, the age of criminal responsibility in Australia is relatively low
In Australia, children as young as 10 years old can be arrested, prosecuted, brought to court, and imprisoned.
The minimum age of criminal responsibility varies around the world, but compared to most European countries, Australia has a lower minimum age of criminal responsibility. For example, Germany sets the age of criminal responsibility at 14 years old, Portugal at 16 years old, and Luxembourg at 18 years old. Among the three jurisdictions in the UK, England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland, also set 10 years old as the minimum age of criminal responsibility. This makes them, like Australia, far below the standards of the United Nations.
Scotland is quite unique. At the age of eight in the local area, one must bear criminal responsibility, but they cannot be criminally convicted until they reach the age of 12. Children aged 8 to 11 who violate criminal laws can be sent to a Children’s Hearing for trial, but the trial object is not their criminal facts, but their behavior, welfare, etc., and corresponding compulsory supervision orders are issued for the purpose of correcting their behavior.
In 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that all countries raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old. The age of criminal responsibility varies among the four regions across the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese Mainland is set at the age of 16, but has reached the age of 14, and those who commit crimes of intentional killing, intentional injury causing serious injury or death, rape, robbery, drug trafficking, arson, explosion, and poisoning shall also be held accountable; Taiwan does not impose criminal penalties on children under the age of 14. The Hong Kong SAR law presumes that children under the age of 10 cannot commit crimes, while before July 2003, the relevant age was seven years old; The laws of the Macau Special Administrative Region stipulate that individuals under the age of 16 cannot be held criminally responsible, but there is also a system for educational supervision of children aged 12 to 16 who commit crimes.
Indigenous peoples have been disproportionately affected
According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, nearly 600 children aged 10 to 13 were detained in Australia from 2018 to 2019, with over 65% being Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander children. Torres Strait Islanders are indigenous people living on islands between the northern end of Queensland and Papua New Guinea. Due to their ethnic affiliation with neighboring island residents such as New Guinea, they are habitually referred to separately from the indigenous people of mainland Australia. But even if the two are combined, the two indigenous peoples together only account for 3% of the total population of Australia.
Another analysis released this year by the Victoria Sentencing Advisory Committee shows that the incarceration rate for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander children is 17 times higher than that of non Indigenous children. In the Northern Territory, this ratio soared to 43 times.
Experts say low age of criminal responsibility is inconsistent with scientific research
Legal groups have long stated that locking up children does not reduce crime, and young people involved in the criminal justice system are more likely to face future imprisonment. Australian medical institutions have also made it clear that they support raising the age of criminal responsibility from a health perspective. They warn that imprisoning vulnerable children can have destructive effects, and that they should receive support in terms of healthcare rather than being treated as criminals.
The Australian Attorney General’s Committee was scheduled to announce in July whether to raise the age of criminal responsibility. But to the disappointment of supporters, the committee postponed the decision. The core part of the question is whether the age of criminal responsibility should be raised, but if you do, you need to know what system to replace it with, “New South Wales Attorney General Mark Speakman told reporters in Sydney last month. He said more work needs to be done to study how to manage children who commit crimes outside of the criminal justice system, and added, “If people want to convince us, they can.
