The age of criminal responsibility is the age below which a child is deemed incapable of having committed a criminal offence. In legal terms, it is referred to as a defence/defense of infancy, which is a form of defense known as an excuse so that defendants falling within the definition of an "infant" are excluded from criminal liability for their actions, if at the relevant time, they had not reached an age of criminal responsibility. After reaching the initial age, there may be levels of responsibility dictated by age and the type of offense committed.
Under the English common law the defense of infancy was expressed as a set of presumptions in a doctrine known as doli incapax. A child under the age of seven was presumed incapable of committing a crime. The presumption was conclusive, prohibiting the prosecution from offering evidence that the child had the capacity to appreciate the nature and wrongfulness of what they had done. Children aged 7–13 were presumed incapable of committing a crime but the presumption was rebuttable. The prosecution could overcome the presumption by proving that the child understood what they were doing and that it was wrong. In fact, capacity was a necessary element of the state's case (thus, the rule of sevens doctrine arose). If the state failed to offer sufficient evidence of capacity, the infant was entitled to have the charges dismissed at the close of the state's evidence. Doli incapax was abolished in England and Wales in 1998 for children over the age of 10, but persists in other common law jurisdictions.
Terminology The terminology regarding such a defense varies by jurisdiction and sphere. "Defense of infancy" is a mainly US term. The "age of criminal responsibility" is used by most European countries, the UK,Stattin, Hekan, and David Magnusson. "Stability and change in criminal behaviour up to age 30." British Journal of Criminology 31.4 (1991): 327-346. Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth of Nations countries. Other instances of usage have included the terms age of accountability,Ranson, Stewart. "Public accountability in the age of neo-liberal governance." J. Education Policy 18.5 (2003): 459-480. age of responsibility,Platt, Anthony, and Bernard L. Diamond. "The origins of the right and wrong test of criminal responsibility and its subsequent development in the United States: An historical survey." Cal. L. Rev. 54 (1966): 1227. and age of liability.Ferreira, Nuno. "Putting the age of criminal and tort liability into context: A dialogue between law and psychology." The International Journal of Children's Rights 16.1 (2008): 29-54.
The term minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) is a term commonly used in the literature.
The rationale behind the age of accountability laws are the same as those behind the insanity defense, insinuating both the mentally disabled and the young lack apprehension.Roberts, Caton F., Stephen L. Golding, and Frank D. Fincham. "Implicit theories of criminal responsibility: Decision making and the insanity defense." Law and Human Behavior 11.3 (1987): 207.
The age of criminal responsibility
Governments enact laws to label certain types of activity as wrongful or illegal. Behavior of a more antisocial nature can be stigmatized in a more positive way to show society's disapproval through the use of the word criminal. In this context, laws tend to use the phrase, "age of criminal responsibility" in two different ways: As a definition of the process for dealing with an alleged offender, the range of ages specifies the exemption of a child from the adult system of prosecution and punishment. Most jurisdictions develop special juvenile justice systems in parallel to the adult criminal justice system. Here, the hearings are essentially welfare-based and deal with children as in need of compulsory measures of treatment and/or care. Children are diverted into this system when they have committed what would have been an offense as an adult. As the physical capacity of a child to commit a crime. Hence, children are deemed incapable of committing some sexual or other acts requiring abilities of a more mature quality.
Discussion
This is an aspect of the public policy of parens patriae. In the criminal law, each state will consider the nature of its own society and the available evidence of the age at which antisocial behaviors begins to manifest itself. Some societies will have qualities of indulgence toward the young and inexperienced, and will not wish them to be exposed to the criminal law system before all other avenues of response have been exhausted. Hence, some states have a policy of doli incapax (i.e. incapable of wrong) and exclude liability for all acts and omissions that would otherwise have been criminal after reaching a specified age. Hence, no matter what the child may have done, there cannot be a criminal prosecution. However, although no criminal liability is inferred, other aspects of law may be applied. For example, in Nordic countries, an offense by a person under 15 years of age is considered mostly a symptom of problems in child's development. This will cause the social authorities to take appropriate administrative measures to secure the development of the child. Such measures may range from counseling to placement at a special care unit. Being non-judicial, the measures are not dependent on the severity of the offense committed but on the overall circumstances of the child.
The policy of treating minors as incapable of committing crimes does not necessarily reflect modern sensibilities. Thus, if the rationale of the excuse is that children below a certain age lack the capacity to form the mens rea of an offense, this may no longer be a sustainable argument. Indeed, given the different speeds at which people may develop both physically and intellectually, any form of explicit age limit may be arbitrary and irrational. Yet, the sense that children do not deserve to be exposed to criminal punishment in the same way as adults remains strong. Children have not had experience of life, nor do they have the same mental and intellectual capacities as adults. Hence, it might be considered unfair to treat young children in the same way as adults.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends setting an age of criminal responsibility of 14, though it has also stated an age of 15 or 16 would be welcome.
In Scotland, the age of criminal responsibility was raised from 8 to 12 by the implementation of the Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019, which came into force on 31 March 2020. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the age of responsibility is 10 years, and in the Netherlands and Canada the age of responsibility is 12 years. Finland and Norway all set the age at 15 years whilst in Sweden the age is set at 14 years for serious crimes. In the United States, the minimum age for federal crimes is 11 years. State minimums vary, with 24 states having no defined minimum age, and defined minimums ranging from 7 years in Florida to 13 years in Maryland and New Hampshire.
By country The following are the minimum ages at which people may be charged with a criminal offence in each country:
Country Notes 12 Minimum age of criminal responsibility is 12. Children aged 7–12 can be subject to warnings, supervision by social services, or confinement to a rehabilitation centre. 14 16 Article 1 of the Code distinguishes between offences and contraventions. Article 12 mandates that the latter (which are less serious) have a higher age limit of 16. 13 18 12 18/21 14 Minimum and maximum sentences are reduced by two thirds between 14 and 16, and half between 16 and 18. The needs of rehabilitation and social reintegration are also to be taken into account for minors. 816 According to Articles 1 and 3 of the Juvenile Act, Courts must have regard to the welfare of those under 14. 14 18 Lowered in February 2026 from 16 to 14. 14 10/12/1414/18/21 Age of criminal responsibility in Australia. Review under way since 2019. PDF Rebuttable presumption of incapacity until age 14. 14 18/21 14 16 15 9 1416 16 is the standard age of criminal liability in Belarus. Minors between 14 and 16 years old are responsible only for certain severe crimes, according to article 27 of the Belarusian Criminal Code. 12 713 10 14 Lowered in July 2014 from 16 to 14.14 8 12 18 Federal Constitution (in Portuguese) , Article 228. Retrieved 2 January 2011.Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (pt) , Seção V. Retrieved 2 May 2013 Full criminal responsibility from age 18, with a juvenile judiciary system for offenders aged between 12 and 18 who can be sentenced to a maximum of 3 years of imprisonment in separate juvenile jails.