Doli Incapax
Definition
Common-law rebuttable presumption that children aged 10-13 are incapable of criminal intent unless the prosecution proves they knew the act was seriously wrong; abolished in England and Wales by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 § 34.
- Legal nature
- Rebuttable common-law presumption
- Age range
- 10 to 13 years
- Burden
- Prosecution must prove knowledge the act was seriously wrong
- England and Wales
- Abolished by Crime and Disorder Act 1998, s.34
Common questions
How does the prosecution rebut the presumption of doli incapax?+
The prosecution must show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the child understood the act was seriously wrong, not merely naughty or mischievous. Evidence can include the child's conduct after the act, such as hiding it or lying about it, school reports, or expert assessment of the child's cognitive and moral development.
Does every common-law jurisdiction still apply doli incapax?+
No. England and Wales abolished it for those aged 10 and over, setting a flat age of criminal responsibility at 10 instead. Other common-law jurisdictions, including several Indian and Commonwealth systems, retain a version of the presumption for children above the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
Related terms
- Age of Criminal Responsibility
- The minimum age below which a person is treated by law as incapable of forming criminal intent, so no act they commit...
- Child in Conflict with Law
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- Dual-Systems Model (Steinberg 2008)
- Developmental theory proposing that adolescent risk-taking results from an imbalance between an early-maturing socioemotional brain system and a later-maturing cognitive-control system, producing...
- JJ Act 2015 § 15
- Provision of India's Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 requiring a preliminary forensic-psychological assessment of 16-17 year olds accused...
- Juvenile
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- Juvenile Delinquency
- Unlawful conduct committed by a person below the age at which the ordinary adult criminal law applies to them; a legal classification...
- Kent Factors
- Eight criteria articulated in Kent v. United States (1966) for evaluating whether a juvenile should be transferred to adult court, including seriousness...
- MAYSI-2
- Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Second Version; a brief mental-health screening tool for young people in juvenile justice settings, widely used in US detention...
- Miller V. Alabama (2012)
- US Supreme Court ruling prohibiting mandatory life-without-parole sentences for offenders who were under 18 at the time of their offence, on the...
- Montgomery V. Louisiana (2016)
- US Supreme Court ruling applying Miller v. Alabama retroactively to prisoners already serving mandatory life-without-parole sentences imposed for crimes committed as juveniles.
- SAVRY (Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth)
- 24-item structured professional judgement instrument for assessing violence risk in young people aged 12-18, with the strongest multi-jurisdictional validation record of any...
- Status Offence
- An act that is only unlawful because the person committing it is a minor, such as truancy or running away from home,...
Explained in these topics
- Juvenile Delinquency and Children in Conflict with LawLatin for incapable of wrong; a legal presumption that a child above the absolute minimum age still lacks the understanding needed for guilt unless the prosecu...
- Juvenile Forensic Psychology: Miller v. Alabama and the JJ Act 2015