Swedish Government Withdraws Proposal to Lower Criminal Responsibility Age to 13, Proposes 14 for Serious Crimes

The Swedish government has reversed its plan to lower the minimum criminal responsibility age from 15 to 13 years due to anticipated lack of support in parliament. Instead, a new proposal aims to lower the criminal responsibility age to 14 years for the most serious offenses.

Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer announced this shift in an emergency press conference on June 11, 2026. He explained that the original proposal, which was scheduled to take effect on August 2, faced significant opposition from multiple political factions including the Social Democrats, the Law Council, and some members of the Tidö collaboration, particularly the Liberals. Given the looming parliamentary rejection, the government opted to withdraw the 13-year-old criminal responsibility proposal.

Strömmer emphasized the difficulty securing a majority in the Riksdag, referring to the upcoming vote as a 'lottery' due to uncertainties about attendance and party alignments. He elaborated, “If we did not secure a majority in the chamber for our proposal, we would remain at the current age of 15, which we consider very unfortunate.” The government now plans to introduce a more moderate proposal lowering the age to 14 but only for grave crimes such as murder, bombings, or serious sexual assaults. This compromise is viewed as having better prospects for parliamentary approval, with Strömmer expressing optimism that “the proposal has good prospects of passing.”

The Social Democrats publicly welcomed the revised plan, aligning along similar lines to reduce the criminal responsibility age only for serious offenses, signaling potential broader support. Other opposition parties, however, maintain their position favoring the current age limit of 15.

This policy reversal follows widespread criticism of the initial measure and reflects political caution amidst the collapse of the previous compensation system and an intensely polarized debate on juvenile justice reforms in Sweden.