Juvenile law

Those who are considered to be under the age of majority, which varies depending on the nation and culture, are within the purview of juvenile law. In most cases, the law treats juveniles differently than it does adults. On the other hand, even juveniles may be tried as adults in certain cases.

In both France and the United States, it is illegal for people under the age of 18 to consume alcohol or tobacco, skip school, leave their homes without permission, or engage in other behaviours that are considered to be ungovernable. Therefore, a juvenile has the potential to become a status offender.

In the United States of America, the meaning of "juvenile" differs from one state to the next. The system is applicable to anyone between the ages of six and ten, depending on the state, and eighteen, with the exception of eleven states (including Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas), where a juvenile is a person under the age of seventeen, and New York and North Carolina, where it is under the age of fifteen. Therefore, the age of criminal majority is either 16 or 17, or 18.

Article 122-8 of the Criminal Code outlines the behaviours that constitute criminal irresponsibility in children less than 13 years old. Those who are between the ages of 13 and 18 are generally considered to be irresponsible; yet, a criminal punishment may be handed down to them if the circumstances and the juvenile's innate tendency toward delinquency support it.