The convention of the rights of the child (CROC) is a document that was signed by Australia in 1990 that is aimed at protecting children from being mistreated throughout the countries that signed the United Nations charter. Australia has been called out for lacking severely in the implementation of CROC into legislation to properly protect the rights of children in the 5 states and 2 territories that make up the country. Australia 's protection of children 's rights is unequal across the country because of its distribution of legislation regarding young people is done at the discretion of the individual state or territory. This choice by the country to allow this to happen has meant that there is no constant in the legislation surrounding children creating an issue in the protection of their rights. An example of this is the royal commission into the treatment of sentenced minors at the Don Dale juvenile detention center after the laws passed by the Northern Territory about head coverings and the treatment of juveniles in detention centers. The issue with this mostly was that there was such a large proportion of young people being mistreated and the blatant abuse of CROC and also the Convention against Torture. The obvious deviation from implementing the convention into law was a direct breach of the declaration of human rights that protect the …show more content…
This is complemented by the presumption of innocence for those who are ages 10-14 which are that the prosecution must prove the defendant actually committed the crime due to the child being presumed completely innocent until done so. The right to a fair trial is shown through Doli Incapax due to its protection of the child at such a young age who would not have the mental development to understand the effect of their actions on other people. An example of this is the Corey Davis case 1997 (NSW) in which Davis was dropped into a river and drowned shortly afterwards. The trial of the boy who threw him into the river was controversial due to the child being 10 years old when it happened and therefore being under Doli Incapax. The case was brought to the supreme court but was overturned due to the nature of the case, in particular, the defendant 's mental state. The role of Doli Incapax in the right of a child to a fair trial and to be judged by a court in accordance with their age and in turn their mental maturity is an example of fairness and protection of rights. The effectiveness of the court and its use of Doli Incapax as a legal mechanism to give the child a right to a fair trial is an acknowledgement of the successful legal