1. AGE OF CRIMINAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Crime: Young Offenders

2. Juvenile Justice
 Law and policy which relates to “minors” (i.e.
people under 18 years of age)
 Our legal system recognises that people who
aren’t yet adults may have a different level of
responsibility for their actions
 Juvenile justice aims to combine welfare
programs (which relate to the wellbeing of the
child) and justice programs (which generally
involve sanctions and punishment)

3. Age of criminal responsibility
 10 years of age
 Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987(NSW)
 “no child who is under the age of 10 years can be
guilty of an offence” (s.5)
 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRoC)
 Children from10-13 may be charged in
Australia, if it’s demonstrated that they
understand right from wrong
 Young people from 14-17 are considered to
understand right from wrong

4. doli incapax
 Children under 10 years
of age are said to be doli
incapax – Latin for
“incapable of wrongdoing”
 Means that children under
10 cannot have mens rea -
don’t understand that it’s
“seriously wrong” (R v
Gorrie 1919); they cannot
be charged with a crime
 Children aged 10-14 are
presumed to be doli
incapax – can be proven
to be otherwise.

5. Examples
James Bulger case (1993)
R v LMW (1999) Corey Davis
case

6. When there are high-profile youth cases, there are often calls to remove
doli incapax. Is this right? Or is doli incapax important? Why?
Should we remove doli incapax?