Age Criteria for Criminal Responsibility

Abstract

In the Russian legislation, age is a law-conferring fact. The authors analyze key legislative acts and their projects that should provide the legal framework regarding the age limits of the subject of legal relationships, as well as the dependence of the chronological age and the corresponding psychological and social changes that should form the basis for the choice of both maximum and minimum age limits for criminal responsibility. Currently in Russia there is an evident need for special criminological, socio-psychological research connected with defining changes in age-related features of modern adolescents. Their results will provide answers to many urgent questions. For example, how have adolescents changed as a result of generation approach? How have their understanding and attitude to key rules and norms of human coexistence changed? Ultimately, the results of such research will give us a better understanding of age-related features of adolescents that should be taken into account when determining the age for criminal responsibility. One of the factors determining the necessity of conducting complex research is the gaps and, sometimes, direct contradictions in the understanding of age limits of criminal and civil responsibility as well as the legal capacity of minors. Undoubtedly, such limits should be mainly connected with the ability of an adolescent to fully understand the key rules and norms of human coexistence and the limits of lawful behavior. The Russian legislation, however, interprets the grounds for the emergence of legal capacity, their connection with the psychological features of the adolescent. The contents of the term «age» differ in each specific branch of law, which has a general negative impact on the possibility of ensuring the rights and freedoms of the subject of special protection — a person who has not reached the age of 18 years.