Age – as the Basis of Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility (Analysis of International and National Legislation)

The topic of the scientific work is relevant both in international and national legislation. The minimum age of criminal liability is the limit from which the state begins to implement its repressive measures against minors. Therefore, it is important to regulate the minimum age in such a way that it is in harmony with the bio-psycho-social condition of the minor and to achieve the goals of criminal law, in terms of analyzing the committed crime, and at the same time, the main goal of punishment in juvenile justice, such as resocialization-rehabilitation, is achievable. The article analyzes from which age the actions committed in the person of a person are analyzed, which should be directly related to the establishment of the minimum age limit. In addition, international approaches are compared with national legislation. It is worth noting that in the reality of Georgia, such an important institution as referral has been implemented, which does not leave minors under the minimum age, who have committed deviant actions, unresponsive. In the paper, the issues determining the criminal liability of a minor are discussed logically, after which the national legislation and international approaches are discussed. It is shown how important it is to correctly perceive/analyze the mentioned issue for the development of juvenile justice, and as a conclusion, the conformity of national approaches with internationally recognized best practice is shown, especially with the existence of such an important institution as – referral, thus, on the one hand, the state does not leave devi- ant cases without a response. The behavior, on the other hand, is prevented in the future by resocialization-rehabilitation of the minor.