Children and Young Persons Act 1933
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to persons under the age of eighteen years.
Citation23 & 24 Geo. 5. c. 12
Territorial extent England and Wales Save as therein otherwise expressly provided
Dates
Royal assent13 April 1933
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (23 & 24 Geo. 5. c. 12) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consolidated all existing child protection legislation for England and Wales into one act. It was preceded by the Children and Young Persons Act 1920 and the Children Act 1908. It is modified by the Children and Young Persons Act 1963, the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 and the Children and Young Persons Act 2008.

Content

The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 raised the minimum age for execution to eighteen, raised the age of criminal responsibility from seven to eight, included guidelines on the employment of school-age children, set a minimum working age of fourteen, and made it illegal for adults to sell cigarettes or other tobacco products to children. The act is worded to ensure that adults and not children are responsible for enforcing it.

In 1932, a 16 year juvenile, Harold Wilkins, was sentenced to death for murder, but the death sentence was commuted.

History

The act was passed a year after the Children and Young Persons Act 1932 broadened the powers of juvenile courts and introduced supervision orders for children at risk.

Some sections of the act concerning the employment of children are still in force today.

Sections 39 and 49 of the Act remain in everyday use in order to protect the identity of juvenile defendants appearing in Courts in England and Wales.

Section 39 and 49: information for journalists

Sections 39 and 49 are used to protect the identity of children and young people (under age 18) who appear in court as a witness, victim or defendant. Journalists may not give the following about any such person:

  • Name
  • Address
  • School
  • Still or moving image
  • Any particulars likely to lead to their identification[1]

The differences between the sections are that Section 39 is discretionary, but section 49 is automatically given in the youth courts. However, the court may waive the provisions of section 49 in the following circumstances:

  • If it appropriate to avoid doing injustice to the accused; for example, if they need people to come forward to say the accused was at a meeting in London when the crime was committed in Liverpool, or they are using a defence of mistaken identity.
  • On application by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, if the police need to trace someone who is accused of an offence that would be punishable by a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment or more if committed by an adult, or of a violent, sexual or terrorism offence. There is an unofficial defence to the Contempt of Court Act 1981 that allows for police appeals, which will not be prosecuted if done in reasonable terms.
  • If it is in the public interest to identify them, for example as a warning to others who may commit a similar offence. This was particularly used if an ASBO was issued against the offender, as the publicity was essential to its enforcement. (ASBOs were abolished and superseded in 2015.)

These only apply once proceedings are activated by an arrest or a summons issued.

References

  1. ↑ Hanna, Mark (2011). McNae's Essential Law for Journalists 21st Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 437. ISBN 978-0-19960869-0.
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