Research On Reducing The Age Of Criminal Responsibility

In recent years,there have been frequent cases in which minors have not been investigated for criminal responsibility for committing acts that seriously endanger society because they are under the legal age.Whether or not the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered has caused heated debate.The age of criminal responsibility is stipulated by law,and at the age at which the doer must attain criminal responsibility for the acts prohibited by the criminal law.If the actor has not reached the legal age,his behavior will not be considered a crime even if it is prohibited by criminal law,and the judiciary cannot hold the criminal responsibility of the actor.The age of criminal responsibility varies from country to country.China’s criminal law stipulates that 14 years old is the starting point of the age of criminal responsibility.There are three main theories on whether the age of criminal responsibility should be reduced.The theory of lowing the age of criminal responsibility holds that the current provisions of the age of criminal responsibility is no longer in line with China’s development status,and the starting point of the age of criminal responsibility should be appropriately lowed.The doctrine of unchanged age of criminal responsibility acknowledges that social development has led to an improvement in the physical development of minors,but the doctrine believes that physical maturity is not the same as psychological maturity.The changes brought about by social development are far from reaching the age of criminal responsibility.The elasticity theory holds that there are inherent disadvantages to the rigid provision of the age of criminal responsibility.If the age of criminal responsibility is set to the elastic provision,it can overcome the disadvantages of the rigid system and the justice of individual cases can be better realized.Finally,through comprehensive analysis,it is concluded that the theory of lowing is an effective measure to solve the frequent crimes of minors,and it is in line with the social development reality of minors’ cognitive status.As a representative of the civil law system,Germany has a complete juvenile justice system.Not only has the “Juvenile Court Law” been promulgated,but it also stipulated the elimination of criminal records system to protect the privacy of minors,the probation system for juvenile delinquency,and the court assistance system.The states of the United States have different regulations on the age of criminal responsibility,which typical representatives of the common law system.At the same time,the United States was the first country in the world to establish a juvenile court.The American juvenile justice system and the “malicious age supplement” system are in a delicate balance,which together constitute a unique age system of criminal responsibility.These systems in Germany and the United States are of great significance for improving China’s juvenile justiceconstruction.In order to curb the frequency of juvenile delinquency,it is not enough to simply low the age of criminal responsibility.A series of measures must be constructed to match it.First,we need to improve our country’s juvenile court system and build professional juvenile courts nationwide.Secondly,we need to restructure our country’s detention and reeducation system,and clarifies specific issues such as the conditions,objects,decision-making organs,and procedures for housing and education.Finally,elimination of criminal records system in China is constructed to ensure that minors will not be discriminated against by society and smoothly integrate into society after accepting punishment.