Samenvatting

Recent scientific studies have shown that a major part of juvenile delinquency is due to the incomplete development of adolescents and will stop before the age of 23. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the accompanying General Comment <i>Children’s rights in juvenile justice</i> give detailed guidelines about juvenile justice. This article focuses on an advice of the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles, according to which both of these developments require adjustment of the lower and upper age limit of criminal responsibility for juvenile offenders and justify a special criminal law for adolescents.