The main provisions in the Children Bill, 1999 are:
The age of criminal responsibility is raised from seven to 12 years.
Most child offending will be dealt with by family conferences including parents and victims.
Family conferences will produce action plans which could include curfews, school attendance, and compensation for the victim.
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Courts will be able to order parents to get treatment for addiction, to attend parenting courses, to compensate victims or to control their children.
Where children are found begging, the onus will be on the parents to show they did not send them out to beg.
Convictions committed before age 18 will be removed from the record after three years crime-free.