Unfitness to Plead Consultation Responses - Law Commission ...

Question 12
How far if at all, does the age of criminal responsibility factor into the issue of
decision-making capacity in youth trials?
Response
There could be an argument for an age limit below which all children could
reasonably be assumed to be of a developmental level that would not be consistent
with having capacity to participate in a trial. This is on the basis that children lacking
capacity will increase with decreasing age. It is likely that this could be similar to the
minimum age for criminal responsibility and may be dependent on the gravity of the
offence. This may introduce the question of who should carry out assessments of
decision making capacity of children without any evidence of mental illness.
13 of 14