Compare and contrast the age of criminal responsibility at the international level. Explain your view of the age minimums and maximums

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Across the world there is a great deal of variation in the minimum age a person can be held responsible for his or her criminal actions, ranging from a low of 6 years in Sri Lanka to a high of under 21 years in Indonesia.
• In the majority of countries around the world, full adult criminal responsibility begins at age 18 years or older. This general pattern is the same for the developed countries listed in Table 17.4 .
• Switzerland has the lowest minimum age of criminal responsibility at 6 years, and Belgium has the highest at 16 to 18 years. Interestingly, in the United States, 36 states have no set minimum age that a young person can be held criminally responsible.
• By common law, states may use 7 years as the minimum, but in practice children under the age of 10 are rarely brought before a juvenile court.
• In those countries in which the minimum age is quite high, such as Belgium (16 to 18 years), Denmark (15 years), or Sweden (15 years), doing nothing is not an option.
• These youth are dealt with under various forms of child or social welfare or child protection legislation. Under these laws young people may be placed in state-run homes, undergo counseling, or report to a social worker on a regular basis.
• In some countries the minimum age can be lowered. This is typically done when the offense is very serious; for example, in New Zealand, the minimum age is 14, but if the offense is murder or manslaughter, the minimum age becomes 10 .
• In Romania, the minimum age can be dropped from 16 to 14 if the young person is capable of understanding right from wrong.
• Student views will vary.