§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many cases involving 10 to 14-year-olds it has been necessary for the prosecution to rebut the presumption of doli incapax in the last five years. [22717]
§ Mr. MichaelFor all prosecutions involving children under the age of 14 years, the prosecution must rebut the presumption of doli incapax. In 1996, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 7,125 children under 14 were proceeded against in the magistrate's court.1 The presumption of doli incapax has been in force over the last five years except for a period between a Divisional court judgment in 1994, which ruled that doli incapax was no longer part of English law, and a House of Lords judgment in 1995, which re-instated it.
1 Criminal Statistics England and Wales: Supplementary Tables 1996; Volume 1. This figure includes those who were subsequently transferred to the Crown Court.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has commissioned in respect of the operation of the presumption of doli incapax; and if he will publish it. [22718]
§ Mr. MichaelNone. In March 1995, the House of Lords commented (in the case of Crown v Director of Public Prosecutions) that the common law presumption of doli incapax had been inconsistently applied and was capable of producing inconsistent results, and recommended that Parliament should review its continued retention in English law. In September 1997, the Government published, as part of the consultation document "Tackling Youth Crime", their proposals to reform doli incapax, with a preference to abolish the presumption outright. The majority of respondents to that consultation exercise who commented also favoured abolition. The Crime and Disorder Bill contains the necessary legislative provisions to abolish the presumption of doli incapax.