Children & the law
Children involved in criminal cases
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland people accused of committing offences while under eighteen are usually dealt with in Youth Courts. In Scotland, an accused person is treated as an adult from the age of 16, except in children's hearings. See below under Children's Panel System.
In Youth Court proceedings, there is an automatic ban on anything which might lead to the identification of a witness, defendant or other party in those proceedings who is under eighteen.
The restrictions include:
- the naming of schools and of addresses
- not showing pictures of a person under eighteen.
In other courts, there is no automatic restriction but the court can make an order preventing identification of a child involved in the proceedings.
Other court proceedings involving children may be heard in magistrates' courts, county courts, or the High Court. They may deal with:
- care proceedings
- adoption
- guardianship.
The Children's Panel system deals with children in Scotland. Any child involved in a hearing before the Children's Panel or an associated referral hearing before a Sheriff cannot be identified. It is forbidden to publish anything in respect of any case about which the principal reporter has received information or any matter to do with a children's hearing which is likely to identify any child concerned in any way with the case. Please note that this may include not just victims and witnesses, but children who are brothers, sisters, friends etc. Note, too, that contentious "Children's Panel" cases can end up in the Sheriff Court. If they do, they are still covered by this wide prohibition. Unlike in the ordinary court system, for children's hearing purposes, a child remains a child until s/he turns eighteen.
The restrictions for Youth Courts also apply to Children's Panel/Referral cases.
In any courts sitting in private it is a usually a contempt to broadcast detailed accounts of child related hearings. This will include proceedings involving:
- wardship
- adoption
- guardianship of an infant.
In wardship cases it is not a contempt to report the court's order or an accurate summary of it, unless the court expressly forbids this.
The Protection of Children Act (1978) covers cases of children filmed or otherwise displayed for pornographic purposes. It is an offence under the act to:
- take an indecent photograph of a child under the age of sixteen
- to involve a child under sixteen in a photograph that is itself indecent even if the child's role is not.
Content producers should consult PLA if they have any queries about the law as it affects children.