Children (Criminal Proceedings) Act 1987

It is conclusively presumed that a child who, at the time of the alleged commission of an offence, is under 10 years of age cannot be guilty of the offence.

It is presumed that a child who, at the time of the alleged commission of an offence, is 10, 11, 12 or 13 years of age cannot be guilty of the offence.

The presumption in subsection (2) is rebutted only if the prosecution proves beyond reasonable doubt that the child knew at the time of the alleged commission of the offence that the child’s conduct was seriously wrong.

Whether a child knew that the child’s conduct was seriously wrong—

is a question of fact, and

must not be inferred merely from the fact that the child engaged in the act or acts which constituted the alleged offence, and

refers to the child’s knowledge that it was seriously wrong in a moral sense to engage in the act or acts which constituted the alleged offence.

In determining whether the presumption has been rebutted, a court must have regard to the following matters, if known to the court—

the conduct that constitutes the alleged offence,

the circumstances surrounding the commission of the alleged offence,

the child’s intellectual and moral development and education,

the environment in which the child was raised.

Subsection (5) does not limit other matters to which a court may have regard.

To avoid doubt—

a court may determine that the presumption has been rebutted based on evidence of the conduct that constitutes the alleged offence and the circumstances surrounding the commission of the alleged offence, and

the determination may be made without or despite other evidence of the child’s intellectual and moral development if the court is satisfied that evidence of the conduct that constitutes the alleged offence and the circumstances surrounding the commission of the alleged offence is sufficient to satisfy the requirement set out in subsection (3).

Despite subsections (5) and (6), a court must not have regard to the following occurring under the Young Offenders Act 1997—

the child being given a caution or being a participant in a youth justice conference,

an admission or non-denial statement made by the child in order to be eligible for a caution or youth justice conference, other than a formal guilty plea referred to in the Young Offenders Act 1997, section 10(5),

an admission, statement, confession made, or information given, by the child during the giving of a caution or a youth justice conference.