CYCJ – COVID-19, Children’s Rights and the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility

The Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) works towards ensuring that Scotland’s approach to children and young people in conflict with the law is rights-respecting, contributing to better outcomes for our children, young people and communities.

We produce robust internationally ground-breaking work, bringing together children and young people’s contributions, research evidence, practice wisdom and system know-how to operate as a leader for child and youth justice thinking in Scotland and beyond.

Our focus is on three key activities:

Participation and engagement: amplifying the voices of children and young people.

Practice and policy development: developing, supporting and improving justice for children and young people.

Research: Improving our understanding of justice for children and young people.

Studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected children, particularly their social and emotional development. Prolonged school closures and social distancing limited peer interaction, reducing opportunities to learn positive social behaviours. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) stresses that protections must account for children’s evolving capacities — the process by which they acquire competencies, understanding, and agency. In 2019, the CRC recommended a minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) of at least 14. This webinar gives an overview of a peer reviewed article published by the presenters. The paper argues that the pandemic’s impact on development requires the CRC to revisit this guidance and consider a ‘developmental immaturity defence’ to better protect children who are now more vulnerable.