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[1 November 2007] - The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has criticised proposed amendments to the June 2007 version of the Juvenile Act, as proposed by the Ministry of Justice. Included are plans to lower the minimum age of consideration for juvenile criminals and young offenders from 12 years of age to 10 years of age. The Commission said the current minimum age should be maintained in order to align with global trends, which suggest raising the minimum age for criminal responsibility. The current Act sets forth four categories of juveniles and their age ranges. Generally juveniles are under 20 years of age. There are three different categories for juvenile delinquents: one is "criminal juveniles," whose acts are in violation of penal statutes and who are at least 14 years of age but under the age of 20; another is "young offenders," whose acts are in violation of penal statutes and who are at least 12 but under 14; and the last one is "high-risk juveniles," who are deemed likely to commit a criminal act and who are at least 12 but under 20. The Ministry of Justice is planning, among other things, to alter the age range in the Act for young offenders from 12-14 years to 10-14 years. It also plans to lower the maximum age consideration for all juvenile offenders from 20 years to 19 years. Lowering the minimum age requirement for young offenders from 12 years to 10 years is a step backward and violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which recommends the minimum age consideration be held at 14 years of age. Trend Commonwealth nations and Switzerland—all of which once held excessively low minimum age considerations for criminal responsibility—have raised their limits. Other nations are quickly following suit. The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) issued recently a general comment on rights of the child in connection with youth criminal justice law, in which it suggested that states parties not lower the minimum age for criminal responsibility below 12 years of age. It also recommended that states parties should not set the minimum age for criminal responsibility too low, and should instead raise existing minimum ages for criminal responsibility to an internationally acceptable level. With these things in mind, the Ministry of Justice’s proposal is a step against global trends for juvenile criminal responsibility, and violates both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (The Beijing Rules). Additionally, the Commission believes that governmental statistics do not suggest any need to take steps in these directions and that the Ministry’s claims are exaggerations of statistical research. Government statistics, especially those of the Ministry of Justice, reveal that while juvenile criminal activity is increasing, the number of juvenile criminals under the age of 14 is not evident. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea was established in 2001, providing investigation and remedy services for Korean citizens and foreigners residing in Korea against human rights violations and discrimination. The Commission provides policy recommendations and remedial action against human rights infringements, collaborates with international human rights organisations and implements educational programs to improve the human rights culture. Further information
pdf: http://www.humanrights.go.kr/english/activities/view_01.jsp?seqid=638&bo...