LEGAL MINIMUM AGES AND THE REALIZATION OF ADOLESCENTS’ RIGHTS

MINIMUM AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) requires States While many States have established juvenile justice systems, these systems
Parties to establish “a minimum age below which children shall be sometimes set an upper age limit below the age of 18. The upper-age limit
– or age of penal majority – or the age for the applicability of juvenile justice
presumed to not have infringed the penal law”. provisions –refers to the age until which someone in conflict with the law is
dealt with under the juvenile justice system. In order to comply with the CRC,
The minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR): the age under which a child1 a juvenile justice system should cover all children who are alleged as, accused
cannot be held criminally responsible for his or her actions, and cannot therefore be of or recognized as having infringed the penal law who are over the age of
brought before a criminal court. criminal responsibility, and up to at least the age of 18.

MACR 18 YEARS
Special protective measures Juvenile justice system Adult penal system
Children who commit an office at an age below the MACR Children at or above the minimum age of criminal In accordance with the CRC, juvenile justice law should
cannot be formally charged and held responsible in the responsibility at the time of the offence can be held apply to all children under 18, regardless of the nature of
juvenile justice system. accountable for his/her actions and subject to the juvenile the offence. Hence countries should ensure that children
justice system in accordance with international human under 18 are not subject to the adult criminal system.
rights standards.

MINIMUM AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
Grenada
Trinidad and
Tobago
Antigua and
Barbuda
St. Vicent
and Granadina
Anguila

Guyana
St. Kitts and
Nevis
Suriname

Barbados

Belize

Brazil

Costa Rica

Dominica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Honduras

Jamaica

Mexico

Panama

St. Lucia

Venezuela
Dominicana
Republic
Guatemala

Haiti

Nicaragua

Uruguay

Bolivia

Chile

Colombia

Paraguay

Peru

Argentina

Cuba
1
Child: every human being below the age of 18 years old (article 1 of the CRC).
MINIMUM AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY

Countries where MACR is below 12

12 years old 8 years old
11 years old 7 years old
10 years old

Countries where MACR is below 18

18 years old 14 years old

16 years old 13 years old
This map is stylized and it is not to scale. It does not reflect a
position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory
no data available or the delimitation of any frontiers.
 MINIMUM AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY AND AGE OF PENAL MAJORITY

Minimun age of criminal responsibility

Age of penal majority
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
Grenada
Trinidad and
Tobago
Antigua and
Barbuda
St. Vicent and
Granadina
Anguila

Guyana
St. Kitts and
Nevis
Suriname

Barbados

Belize

Brazil

Costa Rica

Dominica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Honduras

Jamaica

Mexico

Panama

St. Lucia

Venezuela
Dominicana
Republic
Guatemala

Haiti

Nicaragua

Uruguay

Bolivia

Chile

Colombia

Paraguay

Peru

Argentina

Cuba
In most countries in the Caribbean, children from the age of 16 can be subject to the
adult criminal justice system, in contravention with the spirit and provisions of the CRC.

MINIMUM AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY – A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE IN LAC

Despite the dramatic impact of crime and violence on children, in many sanction, reduce the age of criminal responsibility and/or remove procedural
countries, adolescents are perceived as the main cause of violence rather than guarantees for children and adolescents in conflict with the law. These policies
as victims. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, this negative perceptions not only result in the flagrant violation of the CRC but also do not result in
of adolescents continue to pave the way for harsher juvenile justice legislation meeting the objectives of fighting crime and violence.
and prompt debates aiming to dismantle the protection guaranteed to
adolescents in contact with the law. An additional concern is the tendency to award some discretionary power to
judges in assessing the child’s maturity to decide on the applicable system – or
In the past few years, several governments in the region, in particular Brazil, to use a lower minimum age of criminal responsibility in cases where the child
Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, is accused of committing a serious offence.
Panama and Uruguay, have promoted law reforms or policies exclusively based
on a security agenda, and consisting in measures to increase the severity of
Brazil: Possible legal reform has been under debate in National Congress Uruguay: 2014 referendum over proposed lowering age of penal majority.
since 1999. Different proposals are currently being discussed, the most radical The voting was negative by a small margin and the proposal was contained.
implying lowering the age of penal majority (i.e. upper age limit) from 18 to 16
years old. This proposal would imply amendment to the Constitution which Panama: There have been more than 15 attempts to change the Law 40 of
sets the age at 18. 1999. The 2007 reform (Law 15) raised the maximum penalty from 7 to 12
years of imprisonment for the crime of aggravated murder, and introduced a
Colombia: Different proposals of reform have been discussed since 2009 - scale of prison penalties for other crimes that so far had not been considered
suggesting among others incarceration in adult prisons from the age of 16 and like abduction, extortion and illicit association. The duration of maximum
deprivation of liberty for almost all penalties outlined in the Penal Code. Thanks pre-trial detention was extended. Law 6 lowered the age of criminal
to strong advocacy, UNICEF and its partners were able to counter the reform. responsibility from 14 to 12.

Dominican Republic: Since its adoption, the 136-03 Law has been subject to
controversy and proposed reforms that suggest in particular to increase the
severity of sanctions for adolescents in conflict with the law.

JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

The 2011, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights/UNICEF study on Lack of alternative measures to detention means that deprivation of liberty is
“Juvenile Justice and Human Rights in the Americas” found that “juvenile not exclusively used as a last resort. Furthermore, conditions of detention often
justice systems on the continent are characterized by discrimination, violence, violate numerous children’s rights. Dire material conditions, violence, absence
lack of specialization and overuse of measures of deprivation of liberty.”2 of recreation, and lack of access to education among others, affect children in
According to the study, law enforcement officials frequently deal with detention’s daily lives and opportunities for reintegration and rehabilitation. The
adolescents with brutality, often arresting them and treating them on the situation is compounded by the inexistence or inadequacy of monitoring and
basis of discriminatory prejudices. Children and adolescents are often held in reporting mechanisms.
preventive detention and deprived of contact with their families.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Ensure that the minimum age of criminal responsibility is over 14 and continue to be increased.
• Ensure that all children and adolescents under 18 in conflict with the law enjoy the protection of the
juvenile justice system in line with international standards.
• Exclude provisions that allow for lowering protection standards for certain offences or give discretionary
powers to judges in deciding whether the juvenile justice system applies.

2
Juvenile Justice and Human Rights in the Americas, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights/UNICEF, 2011