All Australian State Attorney Generals I agreed to support Making a proposal to raise the minimum criminal age of liability on Friday from 10 to 12 years.
Two regions of Australia have also promised to raise their age to 12 and are working on reforms, including appropriate conversion programs and services.
Elise Archer, Tasmania’s Attorney General, said it was pleased that all states agreed to ensure that all the complex legal issues involved were considered.
“Because of the complex legal issues to consider when raising the age of criminal liability, we have taken this important step in working with all states to develop a proposal as part of the Prosecutor’s Assembly. I am very happy. ” Archer said..
Archer said the Tasmanian government is already working to provide a new approach to youth justice, including reforming the entire youth judiciary system.
She said Tasmania has no children between the ages of 10 and 12 who have been sentenced to imprisonment in the last five years, but two young people aged 13 have been detained.
But advocates and legal groups have criticized the move, saying that 12 is still too young.
It comes after the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Was called Australia will raise the minimum age of criminal liability to the “internationally recognized level” of 14 years in November 2019.
Change the Record, an Australian Aboriginal-led coalition of indigenous peak bodies, called it “no announcement” and did not help improve children’s lives.
“Medical evidence is clear. The government should raise the age of criminal liability to a minimum of 14 years,” changes the record co-chair. Cheryl Axleby said.. “Last year, about 500 children under the age of 14 suffered behind the bar and were disproportionately children of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.”
The Australian Lawyer Alliance (ALA), a rights advocacy group, said Australia should follow UN recommendations.
“The current young age of criminal liability in Australia violates human rights standards and keeps Australia out of step with many other parts of the world,” said Grahamdropert, ALA’s national president. “If we change the age of criminal liability from 10 to 12, Australia will continue to be below the world average.”
Criminal Defense Lawyer Australia (CDLA) I got it The campaign to raise the age to 14 in 2020 is closely linked to the Black Lives Matter movement.
According to CDLA, 65% of young children in Australian prisons are indigenous and 100% of the children behind Northern Territory prisons are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.
Currently, the minimum age of criminal liability in most European Union countries is 14 years. However, he is 10 years old in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 12 years old in Scotland and Canada.
In the United States, it depends on the state.
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