Exploring childhood, criminal responsibility and the evolving capacities of the child: the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales

Arthur, Raymond (2016) Exploring childhood, criminal responsibility and the evolving capacities of the child: the age of criminal responsibility in England and Wales. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 67 (3). pp. 269-282. ISSN 0029-3105

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Abstract

Currently in England and Wales the law considers that all children below 10 years of age are exempt from criminal liability for their actions as such children are morally not responsible and lacking blameworthiness. This approach to young people in conflict with the law misrepresents the evidence regarding young people who offend and encourages highly contestable judgments about individuality, identity and welfare. I will argue that children have a right to respect for their evolving capacities and that respecting this right would help to re-direct the criminal justice system towards a normative framework better equipped to accommodate the realities of childhood and in which the child’s experience of vulnerability and powerlessness is embedded throughout.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: M200 Law by Topic
Department: Faculties > Business and Law > Northumbria Law School
Depositing User: Becky Skoyles
Date Deposited: 08 Aug 2016 12:53
Last Modified: 01 Aug 2021 03:02
URI: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/27520

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