Defense of infancy

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As a defense of infancy (Engl., Plea of age-related Strafunmündigkeit ') is referred to in Criminal Law of England and Wales , a defense (defense plea). As doli incapax (lat., Unable to List ') thus children (cf.. Apply under ten 50 s. Children and Young Persons Act 1933 ). Until 1998, the rebuttable presumption of doli incapax also applied to children up to 14 years of age. Only in individual cases, when it was possible to prove that the child clearly knew that it was doing wrong, was the presumption of doli incapax refuted and the child could be punished. The murder of a small child by two eleven-year-old boys in 1993 shook England and led to a change in the law: doli incapax was repealed in 1998 by the Crime and Disorder Act ( p. 34 ) . This makes the punishment of children between 10 and 14 years much easier.

literature

  • Thomas Crofts: The Criminal Responsibility of Children in England . In: ZStW . tape [111] , 1999, p. 728-741 .
  • Volker Helmert: The definition of a criminal offense in Europe . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2011, B. The definition of criminal offenses in England, p. 122-123 .
  • Nicola Padfield: Criminal law . 7th edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-958204-4 , 4. Incapacitating Conditions – Childhood.