Children's Rights and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child; Relevancy of Neuroscience in UK Youth Justice

Abstract

In General Comment 24, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 2019 recognised the importance of the latest neuroscientific research on adolescent brain development to youth justice. This chapter will frame the UNCRC observations and contentious comments about age and child justice systems by examining the current neuroscientific evidence. The UNCRC advocates for removing developmentally delayed children and those with neurodevelopmental disorders or disabilities from the criminal justice system’s remit, including the abolition of low minimum ages of criminal responsibility. However, there is a conflict between this view adopted by the UNCRC concerning children’s capacity and (im)maturity (with developmental delays, neurodevelopmental disorders, and disabilities) and the responses of state parties in the United Kingdom. This chapter examines the extent to which the UNCRC’s approach is being procedurally implemented in state parties concerning neuroscience and what this means for the relevancy of neuroscience in policy reform