The reform has long been in the making and is now edging closer to completion. To help with the formulation of the text, Honorary Chair of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) Renate Winter joined the government last week in a consulting session. She recommended that both criminal law and the protection of minors be strictly separated.
Minister of Culture Sam Tanson commented on the challenges of the undertaking: "We had interesting discussions around the topic and the general recommendations from the UN Committee. A particular issue is the question of when a child understands the aspect of guilt. Without this ability, it is not possible to sentence an individual, Ms Winter explained to us. "
According to Winter's recommendation, the age in question is 14 years. Nevertheless, in each case, authorities are also advised to first consider all options aside from sentencing, meaning they should confront the adolescents with their actions and explain the severity of the situation.
The planned reform is now supposed to bring the laws up to standard and adhere to the most recent scientific findings. Naturally, not everyone will like the decisions resulting from this process, Minister Tanson highlighted: "It is extremely important that we finally advance in this area. Our neighbouring countries are already ahead of us in terms of reforms."
When it comes to the protection of minors, these aspects are set to be formulated by officials from the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth.
If everything works according to schedule, both laws can be presented to the Chamber of Deputies before the end of the year. The Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents (OkaJu) welcomes this announcement, arguing that the decision will have long-term benefits on the legislature and legal practice of the Grand Duchy.
