Overview
- Saxony formally asked the Länder justice ministers at their conference on Thursday to examine a new 'Verantwortungsverfahren' for children who are too young to be criminally responsible.
- The proposed procedure would bring a suspected child, their parents, the public prosecutor, youth court assistance and other agencies into a court‑style process that is not a criminal trial but follows similar steps.
- Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig and child‑welfare groups have rejected lowering the age of criminal responsibility and warned against subjecting under‑14s to court proceedings.
- In parallel, Sweden abandoned a plan to imprison 13‑year‑olds and said it will instead prepare a revised bill to lower the criminal‑responsibility age from 15 to 14, showing political and institutional limits to harsher measures.
- If adopted, Saxony’s approach could shift how states balance protection and public safety by formalising interagency cases for very young offenders and may prompt concerns that tougher legal tools could push gangs to recruit even younger children.