Latin for "incapable of wrong." The legal presumption that a child below a certain age lacks criminal capacity. In South Africa, children under 10 are completely excluded from criminal liability.
The Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 sets the minimum age of criminal capacity in South Africa at 10 years. Children under 10 are doli incapax — they cannot be prosecuted for any offence. Children between 10 and 14 are presumed to lack criminal capacity, but the state can rebut this presumption by proving the child understood the wrongfulness of the act and could act in accordance with that understanding. Children 14 and older are treated similarly to adults but within the child justice system.
A 9-year-old breaks a window and steals goods from a shop. No criminal charges can be laid — the child is doli incapax. Social services intervention may follow.
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