12-year-old Luise from Freudenberg is dead. Two girls confessed to stabbing the student. They are 12 and 13 years old and are currently in the care of the Siegen Youth Welfare Office.
Anyone who commits a crime in Germany can only be held criminally responsible if they are at least 14 years old. This is not the case with Luise’s alleged murderers.
If the crime had happened in another country, they might have to answer in court. In most EU countries, the age of criminal responsibility is also 14 or 15 years.
This is the case, for example, in Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Norway, Austria, Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. But there are also states that act differently.
Switzerland: Criminal responsibility from 10 years
For example Switzerland. Here children from the age of 10 are considered criminally responsible. Swiss youth criminal law is primarily concerned with “the protection and re-education of young people and the prevention of further criminal offences”.
During criminal proceedings, personal, family and school circumstances are closely examined. Especially at a young age, a prison sentence is waived. Instead, children are placed in homes or with foster families for resocialization.
United Kingdom: Already children within the age of criminal responsibility
There are different requirements in the UK. While minors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are criminally responsible from the age of 10, children in Scotland can be prosecuted from the age of 8.
In 1993, a spectacular murder in England caused a sensation. Two 10-year-olds killed a two-year-old in Liverpool. The two received a minimum of ten years imprisonment, which was then increased to 15 years.
After the European Court of Justice had pleaded for a milder sentence for the perpetrators, both were released in 2001 and given new identities.
Which countries have the highest and lowest criminal responsibility in Europe?
In Greece, children are considered criminally responsible from the age of 8. Nevertheless, imprisonment only threatens from the age of 15. Before that, underage offenders are housed in educational and therapy facilities.
The situation is completely different in Luxembourg. Criminal responsibility begins at 18 years of age. In the case of particularly serious crimes and with regard to the maturity of the perpetrator, however, young people from the age of 16 can also be prosecuted.
In Bulgaria and Belgium, people are also only criminally responsible at the age of 18. However, administrative sanctions can be imposed on children from the age of 14 in Belgium.
Criminal responsibility outside of Europe
USA: Minors can also be punished as adults
In the United States, criminal responsibility is a state matter. Depending on the region, children can be prosecuted either from the age of six or from the age of twelve.
Importantly, only 15 states have enacted laws that explicitly state when criminal responsibility begins. The so-called “common law” applies in the other states.
Several states allow adult criminal justice to be applied to children who have committed a particularly serious crime. In Florida, for example, 13-year-old Lionel was sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of a six-year-old.
There are also repeated discussions about the harsh treatment of juvenile offenders, especially in the context of racism. For example, the New Jersey Administrative Court found that 90 percent of all juveniles convicted under adult criminal law were black, although they account for only about half of the offenders.
India: Protest resulted in tougher criminal law
Children in India are considered criminally responsible at the age of 12. The rape and abuse of a student by multiple perpetrators, one of whom was a minor, drew attention in 2012.
Because the minor was convicted under juvenile justice and only received a three-year prison sentence, there were nationwide protests when he was released in 2015. Parliament reacted and increased the legal sentence to 7 years.
Juveniles between the ages of 16 and 18 can also be sentenced in court like adults, but not to life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Iran: Girls are criminally responsible earlier than boys
Iran is the only country in the world where minors can be sentenced to death. According to Amnesty International, at least 314 people are expected to have been executed in 2021.
The human rights organization also reports that minors arrested during recent protests in the country have been abused by security forces in prison.
There is talk of whipping and electric shocks. According to Sharia, girls in Iran are already criminally responsible at the age of 9, boys only from the age of 15. From this age children can also legally marry.
