@misc{9226651,
  abstract     = {{On April 16th, 2026, the new legislative Government bill 2025/25:246 regarding stricter rules for young offenders was presented. The bill proposes a partial lowering of the age of criminal responsibility to 13 for severe crimes, and the introduction of youth imprisonment for the 13–14 age group. 

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the arguments behind the proposal and compare them with previous legislative motives. Thereafter the thesis analyses how the proposal relates to Sweden's commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Lastly the thesis aims to examine how society's view of young people's accountability may change as a result of the legislative amendment. To answer the research questions, a discourse analytical method is used, partly through Carol Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” approach. This method is used to investigate how the proposal is justified and to analyse the underlying problem construction behind the legislative proposal. The method is complemented by a legal analytical method in order to examine how the proposal relates to Sweden’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The thesis demonstrates that Swedish legislation has long contained special treatment for young offenders on the grounds that they are not fully developed and therefore have greater difficulty understanding the consequences of their actions. However, due to the escalation of organized crime, change is now considered necessary to respond to the situation. This is motivated partly by the need to uphold societal protection and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system, and partly by victims’ right to redress. The analysis discusses how this development relates to earlier justifications for the special treatment of young offenders. It then examines in greater depth the proposal’s compatibility with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as how societal perceptions of children may be affected by the proposed reform.

The analysis indicates a shift in the view of the special treatment of young offenders, where greater emphasis now is placed on the interest in imposing criminal sanctions than before, when the interest in treating young offenders differently carried more weight. Furthermore, the thesis concludes that the proposal’s compatibility with the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be questioned, particularly regarding the requirement in article 37(b) that deprivation of liberty of children shall only be used as a measure of last resort, as well as the fact that the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends a minimum age of criminal responsibility of 14 years. There are also indications that society’s perception of young people may change because of the proposal, as more will be expected of them. The conclusion is that the proposed partial lowering of the age of criminal responsibility risks creating implementation difficulties and may lead to the deprivation of liberty of young people becoming more normalized instead of an exception.}},
  author       = {{Kron, Ebba}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Sänkt straffbarhetsålder – En analys av pågående lagstiftning och dess förenlighet med barnkonventionen}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}