KEY POINTS:
The Law Society has taken the unusual step of attacking a bill reducing the age of criminal responsibility.
The society's youth justice committee convener, Lance Rowe, told Parliament's law and order committee considering New Zealand First MP Ron Mark's Young Offenders (Serious Crimes) Bill that it should be rejected.
The society usually only comments on the legal aspects of bills, but Mr Lowe said the society was so concerned at proposals to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 10 years it had to speak out.
"This is an exceptional case," Mr Lowe said. "The bill has aroused concern and disquiet among legal practitioners experienced in the criminal justice system, particularly as it relates to youth offending."
The bill as drafted would undermine the youth system, effectively abolish the Youth Court and breach New Zealand's international obligations, Mr Lowe said.
Mr Mark wants the law changed because young offenders, in some cases only children, had been treated too leniently for a spate "of very serious and shocking crimes".
The society disagreed.
"There is no evidence that the problems the bill seeks to address actually exist nor that what is proposed would solve such problems," Mr Lowe said. "It would make children liable for criminal offending whether they knew the act or omission was wrong or contrary to the law, or not."
The society said that if Parliament did proceed with the law change it should apply only to those aged 14 and over and apply only to the most severe offences.
Mr Mark has proposed amending his bill so it applied only to those aged 12 and over.
The bill also proposed that young people charged with offences which could result in a three-month prison sentence should be dealt with in the criminal system, not the Youth Court. The society said this was too broad and if the bill was to pass it should apply only for more serious offences.
Mr Lowe said the present system and law worked well with the majority of offending by children and young people. The bill would see most of these cases dealt with in a criminal court which was unnecessary and harmful.
In the cases where there was failure in the system, it was usually due to a lack of resourcing at Child, Youth and Family, or poorly managed family conferences.
A present wider review of the law concerning youth justice was a better forum for looking at the issues, Mr Lowe said.
The society did want a reduction on the restrictions on the length of orders and sentences that could be handed down by the Youth Court, but Mr Lowe said this would best be handled through the wider review.
Labour and National supported the bill to select committee, but further support was not guaranteed.
Justice Minister Mark Burton has told Parliament the law already existed to deal with child offenders and Mr Mark had confused the issue of criminal responsibility with the age of prosecution.
- NZPA
