New law in St Vincent bans prosecution of children under 12

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, CMC – The St Vincent and the Grenadines Parliament has passed legislation that sets the age of criminal responsibility for a child at the age of 12, up from eight years old.

“That is to say, a child under 12 shall not be prosecuted for an offence that he or she is alleged to have committed,” said the Minister of National Mobilisation Frederick Stephenson.

“A child age 12 but under the age of 14 years shall be presumed not to have the capacity to appreciate the difference between right and wrong unless this is proved otherwise,” he told Parliament when he piloted the legislation last week.

Under the law, neither corporal punishment nor a sentence of life imprisonment can be imposed on a child under the Child Justice Act, which also notes that prosecution of a child age 12 but less than 14 years old must be on the basis of certification of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

The new law presumes that no child under the age of 12 can be guilty of an offence.

Stephenson said that the Child Justice Act will apply to persons under 18 who are alleged to have committed a crime.

It, however, also applies to any person who turns 18 before the proceedings that had been instituted are concluded.

He said that the law also applies to persons over 18 but under 21, on the direction of the DPP in special circumstances.

The new law replaces the Juveniles Act, which describes a child as a person under the age of 14, a juvenile as a person at age 16 and under, and a young person as someone who is between 14 and 16.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.