On October 13, 2020, the second review draft of the Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law (hereinafter referred to as the "draft") was submitted to the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress for deliberation. The draft proposed to lower the statutory minimum age of criminal responsibility individually. The draft stipulates that if a person who has reached the age of 12 but not the age of 14 commits the crime of intentional homicide or intentional injury, causing death, and the circumstances are severe, they shall bear criminal responsibility upon approval by the Supreme People's Procuratorate. At the same time, taking into account the relevant issues of amending the Criminal Law and the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, we will revise the custody and education system to specialized correctional education. In recent years, there have been frequent cases of serious crimes committed by young minors, and this provision in the draft has also sparked heated discussions. According to a criminal law expert who participated in the discussion of the first draft of the draft, the provision to lower the age of criminal responsibility was added in the second draft, but it was not mentioned in the first draft. At that time, some opponents believed that there was no data showing a significant change in the number of crimes committed by minors compared to the past, and that there was no need to respond at the legislative level due to the occurrence of several extreme cases nationwide. However, this expert also believes that the legislative body's response to public opinion demands has deeper policy considerations. Gao Yandong, Executive Director of the Criminal Law Research Institute of Zhejiang University, holds a positive attitude towards this amendment. Previously, he suggested lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 8 years old for malignant criminal offenses such as murder and rape. Gao Yandong told Jiemian News that from the perspective of physical development and psychological cognitive level, the recognition and control abilities of contemporary minors are generally stronger than before, and they have acquired criminal responsibility earlier. The cognitive level of a 10-year-old child today is equivalent to that of a 14-year-old child when the Criminal Law was enacted in 1979. Previously, the General Principles of Civil Law had lowered the minimum age limit for persons with limited capacity for civil conduct from ten years old to eight years old, and lowering the age of criminal responsibility was also necessary for legal uniformity. However, Pi Yijun, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law and director of the Center for Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice Research, stated that he does not agree with the "heavy punishment" approach of lowering the age of criminal responsibility in a "one size fits all" manner. Currently, the provisions in the draft regarding lowering the age of criminal responsibility only deal with juvenile crimes in terms of procedures and sentencing, and still remain at the level of treating adult crimes. Pi Yijun introduced that the issue of juvenile delinquency belongs to the scope of the juvenile justice system. From the perspective of criminology, the treatment of juvenile delinquency should be comprehensively evaluated based on the consequences and causes of the crime, and attention should be paid to the consideration of the causes of the crime. This is the biggest difference between treating juvenile delinquency and adult delinquency. For example, when a minor kills someone, it depends on whether they were provoked, instigated, or retaliated against campus bullying. Of course, if they have repeatedly injured or stolen, and their subjective malice is strong, then they should be punished, "said Pi Yijun. However, Gao Yandong pointed out that lowering the age of criminal responsibility does not mean sending all juvenile offenders to prison. The "approved by the Supreme People's Procuratorate" procedure stipulated in the Criminal Law Amendment is equivalent to the early intervention of the procuratorial organs, which can control the scope of criminal responsibility of some minors. "If the victim is at fault and has indeed shown remorse or immature mental development, the Supreme Procuratorate may not approve it." He also suggested that while lowering the age of criminal responsibility, the system of custody and education should be improved to enable juvenile offenders to receive compulsory education. Gao Yandong said that the current amendment to the Criminal Law stipulates the procedure for downgrading, and the specific implementation still needs to refine rules and further judicial interpretations. He specifically mentioned that in addition to assessing the consequences of juvenile delinquency, it is also necessary to evaluate their level of mental development to see if they have reached the state of assuming criminal responsibility. He suggested that during the approval stage, the Supreme People's Procuratorate could introduce psychological and medical experts to conduct psychological and physical assessments of juvenile suspects. Pi Yijun also suggested that, at the approval stage of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, professionals in psychology, behavior, criminology and other fields could be organized to conduct scientific identification and assessment of the mental and physical conditions of minor suspect, rather than just submitting them to the judicial authorities for decision. If the expert team evaluates that it meets the criteria for criminal responsibility, it should learn from the "malicious age supplement" rules in foreign countries and be handed over to adult courts for trial. Malicious age supplementation "is a set of rules in the UK and the US that determine whether underage minors in a certain age group have criminal responsibility for committing crimes. If the prosecution presents relevant evidence to prove that the minor had malicious intent at the time of the act and was able to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, then the presumption that the minor did not have criminal responsibility can be overturned, and the minor should bear criminal responsibility for the act they committed. During an interview with Jiemian News, Tian Junjun, the representative lawyer of the victim of the "Dalian 13-year-old boy killing 10-year-old girl case" and a lawyer from Beijing Tianguo Law Firm, also expressed support for the latest revisions to the draft, believing that it is a reference to international experience and a response to the frequent occurrence of juvenile delinquency in recent years. On October 20, 2019, a 13-year-old boy named Cai from Dalian killed his neighbor, a 10-year-old girl named Wang, and threw her body into the bushes. Due to Cai not reaching the legal age of criminal responsibility, the police have placed Cai in custody for three years. According to multiple media reports, the perpetrator Cai was already 1.7 meters tall and weighed nearly 140 pounds, with a body shape no different from that of an adult. He was also accused of repeatedly harassing female neighbors. Tian Junjun stated that Cai committed the crime two months after turning 14 years old. If handled according to the latest provisions of the draft, it is clear that Cai may be held criminally responsible. Due to the fact that the custody and education of Cai is still in the execution stage, if the amendment to the Criminal Law is passed in a timely manner and its retroactive effect is relaxed, Cai still has the possibility of being sentenced. (New Society)