Lowering of Age of Criminal Responsibility
Lowering of Age of Criminal Responsibility
Lowering of Age of Criminal Responsibility
Responsibility
I. Introduction
One of the most controversial issues in the country today is the
lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The legislature seeks
to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility from fifteen to twelve.
Presently, we have an existing law on juvenile delinquents, the Republic
Act No. 9344 also known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
The law provides that a child fifteen (15) years of age or under at the time of
the commission of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability.
However, the child shall be subjected to an intervention program pursuant.
While the law provides that the child in conflict with the law should be placed
under an intervention program, that program is not yet in place. Otherwise,
arrested minors would have already undergone it.
Consequently, the downside of the law resulted to a movement by our
legislature for the passage of House Bill 6052, titled "An Act Strengthening
the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines," amending some provisions of
RA 9344. This bill seeks to strengthen the country's juvenile justice system by
imposing penalties on youthful offenders involving crimes like murder,
kidnapping, rape, robbery, arson, carnapping, drug trafficking and other
offenses. In turn, they will be subjected to a community-based intervention
program to be supervised by a local social welfare and development officer.
However, the introduction of the HB 6052 raises positive and negative
commentaries from the public. Child rights advocates considered the
minimum age of criminal responsibility below the age of 12 years to be
internationally unacceptable. On the contrary, law enforcers find it acceptable
because it will suppress the increasing crime incidents involving minors. For
this reason, the issue is whether or not to lower the minimum age of criminal
responsibility from 15 to 12 years old. This paper will look into the advantages
and disadvantages of lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility and
will present discussions and recommendations on the issue.
too low or if there is no age limit at all, the notion of responsibility would
become meaningless.
The House of Representatives has adjusted the minimum age of
criminal liability for youth offenders from 15 years old to 12. House Bill (HB)
6052, is passed to amend Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and
Welfare Act of 2006. If the offense charged is murder, parricide, homicide,
kidnapping, rape, robbery, drug trafficking or other offenses punishable by
more than 12 years of jail time, the youth offender shall be presumed to have
acted with discernment. A child who commits an offense more than two times
shall, meanwhile, be deemed as a neglected child and shall undergo an
intensive intervention program supervised by the local social welfare and
development officer, the proposed law states.
detentions
should
take
place
in
specific
and
children-friendly
Notes:
1. http://jurist.org/sidebar/2012/05/edsel-tupaz-phillipines-juveniles.php
2. http://www.crin.org/en/library/publications/human-rights-dimensionjuvenile-justice
3. http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/0/0/A/%7B00A92691-0908-47BF9311-01AD743F01E1%7Dti181.pdf
4. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2012/06/06/minimumage-criminal-liability-lowered-12-225507
5. http://www.hrw.org/news/2007/06/10/georgia-lowering-age-criminalresponsibility-flouts-international-standards