Ustawa z dnia 26 października 1982 r. o postępowaniu w sprawach nieletnich a konwencja praw dziecka
Act of 26 October 1982 on proceedings in juvenile matters and the Convention on the Rights of the Child

Summary/Abstract: The group of juveniles showing signs of demoralisation may (but does not have to) include those who have not yet reached the age of 13 but have committed acts defined as “punishable” if committed by a juvenile who is at least 13 years old. This simply means that, for example, a theft committed by a 12-year-old boy can be considered as a sign of demoralisation. Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a definition of a child, specifying that a child is any human being under 18 years of age, unless the child reaches the age of adulthood earlier in accordance with the law applying to the child. Polish legislation also sets the general age of adulthood as 18 years. Unfortunately, our criminal legislation, as well as the Juvenile Justice Act, sets the upper limit of minor age as 17 years. The discrepancy between the recommendations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the stipulations of our Juvenile Justice Act should also be viewed through the prism of Article 6 of the JJA, which contains a stipulation indicating the option of placing a juvenile person in a correction centre. The institution of a correction centre, which is not an educative measure but a corrective one, does not fall within the recommendation of Article 40(4) of the Convention, which speaks of the variety of measures and undertakings which can be applied to children - these are exclusively educative measures.

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