Strafrechtliche Verantwortlichkeit von Minderjahrigen in Australien

This chapter explores the age of criminal responsibility in Australia. It begins by explaining the importance of the age of criminal responsibility as a gateway to the criminal justice system. It then traces the historical developments that led to all Australian jurisdictions having a minimum age of criminal responsibility of 10 and a rebuttable presumption of doli incapax operating from the age of 10 until the child’s fourteenth birthday. It then examines recent debates in Australia about whether the age of criminal responsibility and rebuttable presumption of doli incapax should be changed, including the recommendation by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child that all states should adopt a minimum age of criminal responsibility of at least 12, but preferably higher. The article concludes by arguing that unless the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 or 16 there are good reasons to retain the presumption of doli incapax.