Amendment to raise age of child from 16 to 18 years

An Amendment has been proposed by a commitee in Parliament to the Children and Young Persons Ordinance to consider the age of a person who shall be a child will be raised from 16 to 18 years,Communications Department of Parliament said.

The proposal has been made at the Select Committee of Parliament to look into and report to Parliament its recommendations to ensure gender equity and equality under Committee Chairperson Sudarshini Fernandopulle.

Accordingly, the amendments propose to omit the reference to “young persons” and rename the principal enactment as the Children’s Ordinance.

"Every reference to “Children and Young Persons Ordinance”, “children and young persons”, “child or young person” and “age of sixteen years” in any regulation or rule made under the principal enactment or notice, notification, contract, communication or other document issued under the principal enactment shall be read and construed as a reference respectively, to “Children’s Ordinance”, “children”, “child” and “age of eighteen years.

Section 71 of the principal enactment is hereby amended, by the repeal of subsection (6) of that section establishing that “nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the right of any parent, teacher or legal guardian to punish a child or youth”.

The purpose of the Children and Young Persons Ordinance Clause 23 is to make orders for the establishment of Juvenile Courts for the supervision of juvenile offenders for the protection of children and young persons.

According to the Children and Young Persons (Amendment) Bill issued on 18.07.2022, Clause 23 is amended, and the amendments will come into effect on a fixed date published in the Gazette by the Minister of Courts, Prisons and Constitutional Reforms.