The age of criminal responsibility: developmental science and human rights perspectives
Abstract
Purpose
The minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) was set at ten years old in 1963. Since then a deeper appreciation of children's rights and understanding of their unique capabilities and experiences has been gained. This paper seeks to examine the implications of these developments for our understanding of this MACR.
Design/methodology/approach
Research is reviewed that illuminates questions about children's culpability, their competence to participate in the criminal justice system (CJS) and the consequences of criminalising them at a young age. Recent understandings of how children's rights apply to the MACR are also summarised.
Findings
Developmental science and human rights perspectives are inconsistent with a MACR no younger than 12 years.
Originality/value
The paper is one of the first to extensively apply developmental science research to the MACR. The author finds that although a just and rehabilitative CJS may be achievable in the case of most adolescent defendants, this is an unrealistic goal for younger children who instead require a welfare‐based system that addresses underlying causes of antisocial behaviour, facilitates accountability and ensures child protection.
Keywords
Citation
Farmer, E. (2011), "The age of criminal responsibility: developmental science and human rights perspectives", Journal of Children's Services, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 86-95. https://doi.org/10.1108/17466661111149385
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited