Law Reform Regarding The Age of Criminal Responsibility

Law reform is the process of evaluating current laws, and implementing any changes needed in the legal system, aiming to enhance justice or efficiency. The topic chosen to evaluate is Age of Criminal Responsibility.

Young offenders: Age of Criminal Responsibility

In Australia, the age of responsibility is the age a child may be seen as incapable of having committed a criminal offence. The age of criminal responsibility in Australia is no younger than 10 years old. This means that a child under the age of 10 can not be arrested or charged with crime. Only if the prosecution can show that the accused child was able at the relevant time adequately to distinguish between right and wrong, can a contested trial result in conviction.

The Children Criminal Proceedings Act 1987 gave the NSW Children's Court its own piece of legislation for the first time. It aims to give magistrates and officers more independence and required children’s court judges to have to have training in social or behavioural science or to be specially qualified another way that allows them to work with children and young people.

In the case “RP v Ellis and Anor 2011” it deals with a 13 year old who was charged with intent to inflict bodily harm which is a serious children’s indictable offence. The magistrate found that this was an evidentiary matter and committed the child for trial.

A media article by SBS News states that determining the age of which a child can comprehend the difference between right and wrong can be quite difficult as many people have divided opinions. An article on News talks about raising Age of Criminal Responsibility to 16 which leaves many people worried about this potentially leading to gangs targeting young children. The article also talks about how children under 16 have not fully developed their brains to understand reason. An article by The Sydney Morning Herald talks about how harsh punishment on young offenders will only make matters worse. The article also states that children’s brains are still developing not allowing them to fully understand right from wrong.

Conclusion

In order for law reform with Age of Criminal Responsibility to be affective there must be an establishment on when a child fully understands what they are doing and whether it may be right or wrong.