Evaluating the Proposal to Raise the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility to Eighteen in England and Wales
| Pages | 58-71 |
| Date | 01 June 2026 |
| Published date | 01 June 2026 |
| Author | Sofia Dani |
| Subject Matter | Social Sciences |
Southampton Student Law Review
Volume 16, Issue II Autumn 2026
58
ARTICLE
Evaluating the Proposal to Raise the Minimum Age of
Criminal Responsibility to Eighteen in England and
Wales
SOFIA DANI†
University of Southampton
ABSTRACT. England and Wales maintain one of t he lowest minimum ages of criminal
responsibility (MACR) in Europe at ten. This article critically evaluates the proposal to
raise the MACR to eighteen by employing a two-stage analytical framework. The first stage
applies an immunity-based analysis t o determine whether early criminalisation is
normatively defensible. The second applies a capacity-based analysis to assess whether
eighteen represents an appropriate threshold for the attribution of criminal liability. This
article argues that, while raising the MACR is necessary to shield children from the
systemic harms of premature criminal exposure, the proposal of eighteen misconstrues the
function of criminal responsibility by equating minimum culpability with full civil
autonomy. In its place, a gradual model of responsibility is proposed, operationalised
through a reformed doli incapax, which requires courts to positively establish a child’s
understanding on their conduct alongside a welfare-compliant disposal. The article
concludes by examining why reform has proven politically r esistant, arguing that the
conflation of immunity and capacity arguments i n political discourse has allowed each
question to be bypassed by the other, and that separating them is the necessary precondition
for principled reform.
Table of Contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 59
Analytical Framework .................................................................................................... 60
1. Immunity and the Harms of Child Criminalisation .................................................... 60
1.1. The Structural Harms of Custodial Exposure .................................................... 61
1.2. The Limits of Diversion ..................................................................................... 63
2. Capacity and the Threshold of Criminal Responsibility in Childhood ...................... 64
2.1. Neuroscientific Evidence ................................................................................... 65
2.2. International Consensus ..................................................................................... 65
2.3. Rights-Based Jurisprudence ............................................................................... 66
† Final Year LLB at University of Southampton. With thanks to editor Di Niu for her feedback and
guidance.
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
