Not a child’s fault: how the law defines the responsibility of minors and their parents

Juvenile delinquency is one of the most acute social problems, reflecting not only the level of legal awareness in society, but also the effectiveness of state policy in the field of child protection, prevention of deviant behaviour and resocialisation. The analysis of statistical data shows the stable relevance of this topic, which does not lose its acuteness, especially in the context of a full-scale war.

Statistics show that the level of juvenile delinquency in Ukraine has a certain dynamic. While in 2022 there was a decrease in the number of criminal offences committed by minors (1291), in 2023 1638 such offences were already registered. As of the beginning of 2025 and according to available regional reports, the general trend indicates a continued increase in the number of criminal proceedings referred to the court in relation to minors.

The most common crimes committed by juveniles remain criminal offences against property (including theft and robbery), which account for about two-thirds of all crimes, as well as crimes against life and health. The increase in the number of crimes related to the illegal seizure of vehicles, as well as criminal offences in the field of drug trafficking and against public order (in particular, hooliganism) are also significant. The majority of criminal offences are committed by minors aged 16-17 (about 69.3% in 2024).

It is important that these challenges require a comprehensive approach that includes not only strengthening prevention work, but also a clear understanding of the legal basis for bringing to legal responsibility. In this regard, a natural question arises: when and how exactly does liability for committed acts arise, and who bears the burden of it – minors or their parents? Let us consider in more detail the peculiarities of administrative and criminal liability, as well as the role of family education in preventing delinquency.

Age as a condition of legal liability

Legal liability is inextricably linked to the guilt of the person in committing the tort. Guilt is defined as a person’s mental attitude to his or her own actions or inactions and their consequences. It is in the context of the formation of mental maturity and formation of a person as a capable subject of legal relations that the legislator in all branches of law has determined the age thresholds for the onset of legal capacity, which in the context of administrative and criminal law can be called tort capacity.

Minors, who are limited in certain ways in their rights and obligations (except for the exceptions specified in Article 35 of the Civil Code of Ukraine), obviously require a special approach when applying legal liability measures to them. With this in mind, a separate institute of juvenile justice has been introduced, and the sources of administrative and criminal law define a special procedure for consideration of proceedings involving minors, including as witnesses and victims. However, we will focus on minors as persons held legally liable.

In distinguishing between criminal and administrative torts, it is important to note the lower age limit for acquiring the status of a subject of an offence.

Administrative liability of minors

According to Art. 13 According to the Code of Administrative Offences, administrative liability can be applied to persons aged 16 and over.

At the same time, the legislator limits the category of officials authorised to consider cases of administrative offences committed by minors, vesting such a right exclusively in courts of first instance of general jurisdiction (Art. 221 CAO and Art. 522 of the Customs Code of Ukraine). In addition, the types of sanctions that can be applied to a minor offender are also limited.

Так, ст. 24¹ CAO stipulates that in the case of an administrative offence committed by a minor, measures of influence may be applied to him or her. By its legal nature, a measure of influence is not a punishment and is intended solely for educational purposes. Moreover, the Law does not impose an obligation on the court to impose measures of influence on a minor, but a right. In other words, the court has the discretion to apply or not to apply measures of influence to a minor for an administrative offence, based on the circumstances of the offence, the perpetrator’s attitude to his or her actions, and the identity of the offender.

However, the current legislation also contains exceptions. Thus, in accordance with Article 13 of the Code of Administrative Offences, if persons aged sixteen to eighteen commit administrative offences under Articles 44, 51, 121-127, parts one, two and three of Article 130, Article 139, part two of Article 156, Articles 173, 173-4, 174, 183-1, 185, 190-195 of the Code of Administrative Offences, they are subject to administrative liability on a general basis. However, the court may additionally apply to a minor offender the measures of influence provided for in Article 24¹ of the CUAO, which we mentioned above.

This approach of the legislator is due to the vulnerability of such a category as minors, as well as the lack of official income for the latter to impose such types of administrative penalties as fines. However, the Code contains an exception when a minor may be subject to a property obligation in the form of compensation for material damage. According to part 2 of Art. 40 Under the CAO, when damage is caused by a minor who has reached the age of sixteen and has an independent income, and the amount of damage does not exceed one tax-free minimum income, the judge has the right to impose compensation for the damage caused on the minor or oblige him or her to repair it by his or her own labour.

We would like to note that the CAO combines both substantive and procedural law, but the Code is not the only source of substantive law that determines the punishability of acts and liability for them. Administrative liability for violation of customs rules is provided for in Section XVIII The Criminal Code of Ukraine, for which liability also arises upon reaching the age of 16.

Responsibility of parents for administrative offences of children

With regard to administrative liability of parents in the case of their minor children aged fourteen to sixteen years, a protocol is also drawn up against one of the minor’s parents or a person in loco parentis in accordance with Part 3 of Art. 184 CUAO, which provides for the imposition of a fine on parents for failure to fulfil their child-rearing obligations, which led to the commission of an administrative offence by their minor children. At the same time, Article 184 of the Code of Administrative Offences provides for administrative liability of parents in case of actions by minor children that contain signs of a criminal offence, if the children have not reached the age of criminal liability (are not subjects of the offence). But we will return to this in more detail when studying the peculiarities of criminal liability of minors and their parents or persons in loco parentis.

It is worth noting that causing property damage as a result of an administrative offence committed by a minor may result in compensation in accordance with the procedure established by civil law.

Criminal liability of minors

A slightly different approach is established by the legislator for the liability of minors and their parents in case of a criminal offence. It should be noted that criminal offences are divided into criminal offences and crimes.

For example, the Criminal Law defines the age at which liability for offences is established. According to Art. 22 of Criminal Code of Ukraine, persons who have reached the age of sixteen before committing a criminal offence are subject to criminal liability.

However, this rule, unlike the CAOhas exceptions, as it provides for the liability of a minor for certain criminal offenses from the age of fourteen. In case of committing the following crimes, the person will be liable from the age of fourteen premeditated murder (Articles 115-117), an attempt on the life of a state or public figure, a law enforcement officer, a member of a public formation for the protection of public order and the state border or a military officer, a judge, a people’s assessor or a juror in connection with their activities related to the administration of justice, a defense counsel or a representative of a person in connection with activities related to the provision of legal aid, a representative of a foreign state (Articles 112, 348, 379, 400, 443), intentional grievous bodily harm (Article 121, part three of Articles 345, 346, 350, 377, 398), cruelty to animals (Article 299), intentional medium gravity bodily harm (Article 122, part two of Articles 345, 346, 350, 377, 398), sabotage (Article 113), banditry (Article 257), terrorist act (Article 258), hostage taking (Articles 147 and 349), rape (Article 152), sexual violence (Article 153), theft (Article 185, part one of Articles 262, 308), robbery (Articles 186, 262, 308), robbery (Article 187, part three of Articles 262, 308), extortion (Articles 189, 262, 308), intentional destruction or damage to property (part two of Articles 194, 347, 352, 378, parts two and three of Article 399), damage to transportation routes and vehicles (Article 277), hijacking or seizure of railway rolling stock, aircraft, sea or river vessels (Article 278), illegal seizure of a vehicle (Article 289, paragraphs two and three), and hooliganism (Article 296).

However, it should be emphasized that the purpose of criminal punishment is not punishment itself, but rather the correction of a person and prevention of other criminal offenses, since criminal policy should not be aimed at prosecuting the perpetrators, but at preventing crimes and preventing them in the future.

The peculiarities of sentencing and the types of punishment that can be applied to a juvenile offender are set out in a separate section of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The peculiarity of applying penalties to minors is, first of all, the impossibility of applying certain types of penalties provided for adult offenders for objective reasons, such as confiscation of property, since due to their age such a person is not a full participant in property relations.

Among the main punishments provided for by the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the following types of punishment may be applied to a minor:

• fine;
• community service;
• corrective labor;
• probation supervision;
• imprisonment for a certain period of time.

A minor may also be released from criminal liability on a general basis, on the basis of Art. 75 Criminal Code of Ukraine, with probation. However, the period of such probation is no more than two years, while on a general basis it is up to three years.

Additional penalties may include a fine and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities.

In addition to criminal punishment, there is a special type of criminal law measure that applies to minors. This is the application of compulsory educational measures. There are differentiated grounds for its application.

Such a criminal law measure of influence may be applied to an offender who has committed a misdemeanor or a minor crime for the first time, instead of the basic punishment for the incriminated crime, if the court concludes that the person can be reformed without the application of the punishment provided for by the Law.

Another case when such a measure of criminal legal influence may be applied is when a criminal offense or crime is committed by a person under the age of criminal responsibility (i.e., 16 years old, or 14 years old in the case of offenses for which such an age is the lower threshold of liability).

Legal liability of parents for crimes of children

The legal liability of parents can be divided into three types in case of crimes committed by their children. As we have already mentioned: property (civil) and administrative. However, there is a special type of criminal liability of parents, which occurs when a minor commits a crime with the consent of the parents or their active assistance to the minor, as provided for in Articles 150¹ and 304 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In this case, legal liability may be incurred for such actions as, for example, involvement of minors in begging, which is not uncommon among socially disadvantaged and vulnerable categories of society.

At the same time, the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Ukraine do not define begging as an independent type of punishable act, but Article 150¹ of the Criminal Code of Ukraine defines begging as systematic begging for money, things, and other material values from strangers.

Thus, parents may be legally liable for both intentional actions and improper performance of parental duties, since the state’s activities are aimed, among other things, at protecting childhood. Thus, Art. 51 Constitution of Ukraine It is enshrined that the family, childhood, maternity and paternity are protected by the state. After all, a happy, fulfilling childhood ensures the development of a conscientious, responsible and happy people. And it is the parents, with the support of the state, who must ensure this happy childhood for young citizens.