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ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MINORS: HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL LEGAL DOCUMENTS
Captain
Gadoymirodov Bekzod Obidjon ugli
,
lecturer at the Department of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal
Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan
ORCID: 0009-0006-6719-952X
Abstract:
This article analyzes the issue of administrative liability for minors from historical,
legal, and practical perspectives. The developmental process from the early legal norms of the
19th century to modern international standards of the 21st century is chronologically illuminated.
The article demonstrates the significance of juvenile accountability using examples of the current
situation in Uzbekistan, judicial statistics, and dynamics of youth offenses. It is also emphasized
that the main objective should not be the punishment of minors, but rather their re-education and
adaptation to social life.
Keywords:
minors, administrative liability, offenses, juvenile court, re-education, legal
awareness, UN Convention, historical development, crime prevention, youth policy,
administrative law, social integration, court statistics, educational measures, international law.
Minors are the future of every society, the main foundation of its spiritual and legal stability.
Therefore, one of the important tasks facing society is shaping the worldview of the younger
generation, developing their legal consciousness, and protecting them from criminal and
administrative offenses. Today, when establishing administrative liability for minors, not only
their actions are taken into account, but also age, mental state, and educational factors.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan published statistics on cases considered by
criminal courts in the first quarter of 2025. According to the data,15,681 criminal cases were
considered against 19,646 individuals. The number of convicted persons was 15,369, including:
• 4,764 people - sentenced to imprisonment;
• 10,319 people - subjected to other types of punishment;
• 286 people - given suspended sentences.
Among those convicted, 6,066 were young people, of whom 702 were minors
. These figures
indicate the need for scientific and practical analysis of the problem of juvenile delinquency and
strengthening measures to prevent such cases.
Administrative responsibility for minors is not a punishment, but a means of upbringing,
rehabilitation, and social adaptation. In every country, this process should be implemented based
on legal, ethical, and pedagogical approaches.
Throughout history, various penalties have been applied in different periods and countries for
offenses committed by minors, depending on the nature of their actions and their age. For
instance, the Statute on Punishments Imposed by the World Courts of 1864 contained provisions
regarding the liability of minors. Specifically, individuals who committed misconduct under the
age of 10 could not be held administratively liable. According to paragraph 11, minors aged 10
to 17 years were subject to penalties amounting to half of what was stipulated in the Statute. A
1
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magistrate could, without punishing a minor under 14 years of age, hand them over to guardians,
parents, or relatives "for correction at home"
.
Scholars in the field of administrative law associate the emergence of administrative
responsibility as an independent form of legal liability for minor offenses with the adoption of
the Statute on Punishments Imposed by Justices of the Peace in 1864
The historical development of responsibility for administrative offenses against minors has
evolved differently in various countries. Legislation and legal systems in this area underwent
particularly dramatic changes in the 20th century. We can examine this by dividing it into the
following periods:
The first period
encompasses the 19 th century, during which the legal foundations for
administrative liability against minors began to take shape.
The Statute on Punishments Imposed by the World Courts, adopted in 1864, is recognized as one
of the first historical documents in this regard. Clause 11 of this statute stipulated that fines and
penalties for individuals aged 10 to 17 were to be set at half the total amount. Additionally,
minors under 14 years of age could be handed over to their parents or guardians without a court
decision.
The "External Youth Court," established in Britain in 1839, and the first "Juvenile Court,"
established in Chicago, USA, in 1899, became the basis for special approaches to juvenile
criminal cases;
The second period
encompasses the 20th century, and at the beginning of this period, special
types of liability for minors began to form in jurisprudence. Such courts and penal systems
served the purpose of educating young people and reintegrating them into society. The
Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted by the UN in 1989, marked a new stage in
international law. According to it, minors should be protected as human beings in all
circumstances, and punishment should be imposed on them taking into account their age,
behavior, and social conditions;
The third period
, covering the 1950s-1980s, is considered the period of development of
administrative penalties.
Administrative penalties for minors and laws aimed at protecting their rights have been
developed.
Theoretical changes were introduced to the juvenile justice system in Japan and European
countries. For young offenders, the focus shifted towards administrative penalties, compulsory
education, rehabilitation, and social reintegration.
Countries like Switzerland and Norway developed administrative penalty systems for minors.
These systems aim to protect the rights of minors and focus on their re-education.
The fourth period
covers the 1990s. From this time, international relations and legislation
concerning minors' rights were further improved.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
aimed to develop fair approaches towards youth for any offense. When imposing administrative
penalties, attention was given to ensuring social protection and reintegration of young people.
The fifth period
covers the 2000s in the field of international law.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the main goal of imposing administrative penalties on
minors became re-education and social integration. Criminal sentences often transformed into
education and rehabilitation courses, social services, or mandatory referrals.
International criminal courts and legislation sought to improve and regulate penalties applicable
to minors. In particular, the International Criminal Court adopted resolutions aimed at protecting
the rights of minors.
2
Устав о наказаниях, налагаемых мировыми судами 1864 г. [Электронный ресурс] / «Традиция» Русская
энциклопедия. Электрон. Дан
3
Кононов К.А. Развитие законодательства об административной ответственности в России // Lex russica.
2016. № 1. С. 34.
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Significant steps in the history of administrative responsibility for minors have been related to
developing standards for protecting young people's rights and imposing criminal or
administrative penalties on them. At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, the
main goal of administrative responsibility for minors was their re-education and proper
reintegration into society.
WORKS CITED
1. The Charter on Punishments Imposed by Magistrates' Courts of 1864 [Electronic resource] /
"Tradition" Russian Encyclopedia. Electronic;
2. Kononov K.A. Development of Legislation on Administrative Responsibility in Russia // Lex
russica. 2016. No. 1. P. 34;
3. https://kun.uz/kr/news/2025/04/22/47-thousand-people-were-deprived-of-liberty-in-the-first-
quarter-of-2025;
4. Gadoimirodov B., Uzoqboev Sh. The concept and characteristics of crimes committed among
minors //Aktualnye voprosy obespecheniya prav jenshchin i predotvrashcheniya nasiliya v seme
v Uzbekistane. - 2024. - T. 1. – no. 1. – S. 9-15.
