Age assessment practices: a literature review & annotated ... - Unicef

By directing attention to moral and psychological development, discernment and
understanding, the Commentary to the Beijing Rules stresses certain competencies that
have particular relevance to criminal responsibility (Cipriani, 2009:32), and therefore
includes an implicit requirement that juvenile justice mechanisms are adapted to meet the
needs of children at different ages and of different capacities.
Developmental age is also acknowledged in UNHCR‟s guidelines on child asylum claims
which states that;
“.....Being young and vulnerable may make a person especially susceptible to persecution.
Thus, there may be exceptional cases for which these guidelines are relevant even if the
applicant is 18 years of age or slightly older. This may be particularly the case where
persecution has hindered the applicant‟s development and his/her psychological maturity
remains comparable to that of a child.” (UNHCR, 2009:para7).
However, UNHCR‟s guidelines are not binding, and refer only to the recommended
treatment of children who are seeking asylum. A lack of provision in law to take into
account a child‟s developmental age has resulted in a focus intent on identifying
chronological age in the context of children who migrate and seek asylum, as will be
discussed in Section 4. It is also clear that while there is provision in law to take into
account a child‟s developmental age in the juvenile justice system this is not always
implemented in practice.
Landsdown (2005) outlines a possible solution to these difficulties as being the removal of
all legal age-limits and substituting individual assessment of children to determine their
capacity in decision-making. However, Landsdown also identifies significant limitations to
such an approach including the impracticalities in implementing the model and its potential
for exposing children to exploitation and abuse of their rights.
3. International guidance
In the context of a legal system where there is growing international consensus about
prescribed age limits for the gradual acquisition of rights and responsibilities, children
without proof of age inevitably face disputes concerning their age, and the authorities tasked
with making decisions about their welfare must find a method of determining their age in the
absence of official documentation. This section looks at the international guidance that is
available to support countries in their response.
The framework which underpins all international guidance in relation to children is the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1989). The CRC is a universally
agreed set of non-negotiable standards and obligations which set minimum entitlements and
freedoms that should be respected by governments. Article 1 of the CRC effectively
restricts the application of the rights contained within the CRC to those who are children, i.e.
below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is
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