Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2016-11-01

Penal Code (Amendment) Draft Bill - (Increasing the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility)

- The Psychiatrists and experts in the relevant fields have expressed the view that the minimum age of 8 years, is a very tender age to attach criminal responsibility. Accordingly, a proposal made by Hon. (Dr.) Wijayadasa Rajapaksa, the Minister of Justice, for amending the Penal Code to increase the age of criminal responsibility of a child from 8 to 12 years, and confer a Magistrate with the discretion to punish a child between 12 years and 14 years only in cases where he finds that such child has attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his conduct on that occasion, and publish it in the Government Gazette and subsequently, present it in Parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.