🧒 Young people and young adults
In brief
Juveniles (Jugendliche) are at least 14 and not yet 18 years old at the time of the offence. Young adults (Heranwachsende) are at least 18 and not yet 21 years old at the time of the offence (§ 1 JGG).
The Juvenile Courts Act applies to them. If there is doubt whether someone was already 18, the rules of juvenile proceedings apply.
For juveniles, a defence lawyer must be appointed if one would also be necessary for adults, if parents are excluded from the hearing, or if a juvenile sentence, its suspension (§ 27 JGG) or placement in a psychiatric hospital or addiction treatment facility is to be expected (§ 68 JGG).
Parents and legal representatives have their own rights in the proceedings. Get advice early.
Step by step
- Stay calmThe juvenile does not have to say anything about the case. Parents too should get advice first.
- Involve a defence lawyerLook for a defence lawyer or ask for a court-appointed defence lawyer.
- Know about youth court assistanceIn juvenile criminal proceedings, the youth court assistance service (Jugendgerichtshilfe) takes part; details are not examined here.
Deadlines
- Children under 14 are not criminally responsible (§ 19 StGB); the JGG does not apply to them.
- For young adults, juvenile law applies if there is a developmental delay or the offence is a typical juvenile offence (§ 105 para. 1 JGG).
- Deadlines for appeals in juvenile proceedings have not been checked separately here.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Scope (§ 1 JGG)
A juvenile is someone who is fourteen but not yet eighteen years old at the time of the offence; a young adult is someone who is eighteen but not yet twenty-one years old at the time of the offence. If there is doubt whether the suspect had completed their 18th year at the time of the offence, the provisions on proceedings against juveniles are to be applied.
Mandatory defence (§ 68 JGG)
Under § 68 JGG, a defence lawyer is to be appointed, among other cases, if the conditions of mandatory defence under the StPO are met, if the legal guardians and legal representatives have been deprived of their rights or excluded from the hearing and a substitute solution is not sufficient, if placement for assessment of the stage of development (§ 73) is under consideration, and under no. 5 if a juvenile sentence, suspension of the imposition of a juvenile sentence (§ 27 JGG) or placement in a psychiatric hospital or addiction treatment facility is to be expected.
Not covered
Diversion (§§ 45, 47 JGG), youth court assistance, juvenile sentences, enforcement and the rights of parents in detail.
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