Italy’s proposed reform risks violating the rights of children in the justice system
On 23 July, the Italian Government approved a draft law which could change the rules governing the criminal responsibility of children aged 14 to 18.
Currently, an Italian judge must assess whether a child had the capacity to understand and control their actions at the time of an alleged offence. Under the proposed reform, that capacity would instead be presumed unless evidence demonstrated otherwise.
The minimum age of criminal responsibility would remain 14, and the penalties applicable to children would not change. Nevertheless, the reform would alter the starting point: rather than beginning with an individual assessment of the child, the justice system would begin with a presumption of criminal capacity.
This development comes at a time when there is growing recognition of the profound impact that justice systems can have on children’s development, mental health and future.
Italy’s justice system already presents serious challenges for children. Eurochild's members have repeatedly reported that the duration of legal proceedings in Italy remains a concern for safeguarding children’s well-being.
In Italy, the number of minors in detention is already increasing. As a result of more and more punitive policies, between 2022 and 2025, the population of the country's 17 Juvenile Detention Centres has grown by more than 50% from 2022 to 2025.
This legislative proposal does little more than criminalise young people and foster a climate of hostility towards them, leading to their further isolation and reinforcing the stigma that labels them as inherently violent. This is particularly concerning because, for many vulnerable minors without adequate support networks, such exclusion can increase the risk of radicalisation or make it even harder for them to find positive alternatives. It could also potentially weaken protections for minors within the juvenile justice system by criminalising them rather than protecting them from exploitation by criminal organizations.
There are also significant inequalities in who comes into contact with the justice system.
According to data from the Italian Ministry of Justice, 42.3% of people in juvenile penal institutions were foreign nationals. This is a clear overrepresentation.
Antigone’s Eighth Report on Italian Juvenile Justice, published in 2026 and based on Ministry of Justice data, also shows that the representation of foreign nationals increases as the measures imposed become more restrictive.
During 2025, foreign nationals accounted for:
- 23.14% of people taken into the care of juvenile social services;
- 41.69% of placements in penal communities;
- 41.98% of admissions to first-reception centres; and
- 46.03% of admissions to juvenile penal institutions.
These figures should lead us to ask not only how children are punished, but which children are most likely to be criminalised, and why.
In Eurochild’s contribution to the forthcoming EU Action Plan on the Protection of Minors against Crime, we emphasised that children affected by crime must be treated first and foremost as children and rights-holders.
Their contact with crime may be connected to poverty, discrimination, trauma, exploitation, migration, family violence, exclusion, or failures in protection and support.
Accountability and children’s rights are not opposites. However, accountability must be age-appropriate, individualised, and directed towards rehabilitation and reintegration.
Europe should resist a broader shift towards increasingly punitive responses to children. Detention must remain a genuine measure of last resort. Prevention, education, mental health support, strong social services, restorative justice, and community-based alternatives must come first.
The real test of a justice system is whether it protects society while recognising children’s capacity to develop, recover and reintegrate.
Rather than investing public resources in predominantly punitive measures, which over the past four years have failed to improve the situation, policies should be redirected towards prevention and support.
Europe should invest not in pushing children deeper into the criminal justice system, but in preventing harm, addressing its root causes, and giving every child a genuine path towards a different future.
For more information, please contact Francesca Pisanu, francesca.pisanu@eurochild.org
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