Minimum Age In Australia Essay

The minimum age a child can be held criminally responsible for an offence committed is a heavily debated topic universally, especially in the history of Australia to whom rectified the minimum age of criminal responsibility laws various times (Weijers and Grisso 2009).
Globally the story is much the same as there is no mandatory minimum age that a child can be held responsible for there actions (Australian institute of criminology 2000), but rather their have been universally recognised rules within the United Nations Convention on the rights of a child that establishes that a child 's wellbeing must be imperative in a legal process such as in the courts (Australian institute of criminology 2000). Further on the global consensus, sovereign …show more content…
While states within the United States still rely upon the common law age of seven to twelve (Rastogi and Yadav 2013). In general terms more needs to be done universally and in Australia, as Goldson (2013) states that its imperative to raise the minimum age of ten years as it 's not appropriate because in the future the young child would be essentially victimised through labelling and potentially reoffend (Goldson