Romania considers lowering the age of criminal responsibility

The issue of lowering the age of criminal responsibility is again in the public spotlight in Romania.

Ion Puican, 18.02.2026, 14:00

The issue of lowering the age of criminal responsibility is again in the public spotlight after a series of tragic events involving minors under the age of 14, the legal age of criminal responsibility for minors in Romania. The proposal to lower the threshold from 14 to 13 years old has sparked strong reactions in society, pitting the desire to punish violent acts against the state’s obligation to protect children, including when they come into conflict with the law. In the absence of solid prevention services, psychological counselling and early intervention, lowering the age of criminal responsibility risks transforming the criminal system into a substitute for social policies, with long-term negative effects on children’s development. The executive president of the Save the Children Association, Gabriela Alexandrescu, talks to us about the causes that led to these tragedies among minors:

“We know very well that violence and juvenile delinquency have social and educational roots. For example, school dropout, dysfunctional family environments, exposure to violence in the family or community, lack of parental supervision, easy access to violent online content or prohibited substances can generate antisocial behaviours in a child’s life. On the other hand, the social protection system in Romania has significant flaws and the number of social workers is insufficient. There are 2,000 communes with no professional social worker. Psychological counselling services are lacking in rural areas and free access to them is very difficult even in cities.”

Gabriela Alexandrescu also spoke to us about the educational programmes carried out by the Save the Children Association and designed to help reduce violence among minors:

“We have been running an emotional education programme entitled Let’s Be Friends for many years in over 250 kindergartens. In this programme, children are engaged by educators in activities carried out around four fundamental values ​​that can encourage pro-social behaviours, namely courage, tolerance, respect and care. The positive impact on children is extraordinary.”

Gabriela Alexandrescu summed up Romania’s current juvenile protection and rehabilitation system for children between the ages of 14 and 18:

“Romania currently has only four specialised facilities run by the National Penitentiary Administration and two day centres. But these centres are for children between the ages of 14 and 18, who have been sentenced by the courts to educational and custodial measures. There are no specialised units for children under the age of 14 who commit serious crimes. All of these institutions lack specialised staff.”