Child Justice Act, 2008 (Act No. 75 of 2008)Chapter 2 : Application of Act, Criminal Capacity of Children under the age of 14 years and matters related to agePart 2 : Criminal capacity of Children under the age of 14 years7. Minimum age of criminal capacity |
| (1) | A child who commits an offence while under the age of 12 years does not have criminal capacity and cannot be prosecuted for that offence, but must be dealt with in terms of section 9. |
[Section 7(1) substituted by section 4 of the Child Justice Amendment Act, 2019 (Act No. 28 of 2019), Notice No. 641, GG43402, dated 4 June 2020 - effective 19 August 2022 per Proclamation Notice 2400, GG46752, dated 19 August 2022]
| (2) | A child who is 12 years or older but under the age of 14 years and who commits an offence is presumed to lack criminal capacity, unless the State proves that he or she has criminal capacity in accordance with section 11. |
[Section 7(2) substituted by section 4 of the Child Justice Amendment Act, 2019 (Act No. 28 of 2019), Notice No. 641, GG43402, dated 4 June 2020 - effective 19 August 2022 per Proclamation Notice 2400, GG46752, dated 19 August 2022]
| (3) | The common law pertaining to the criminal capacity of children under the age of 14 years is hereby amended to the extent set out in this section. |