What are my rights and responsibilities as a
young citizen?
Young people acquire rights and
responsibilities at different ages. At ten, for instance, a child
may be tried in a youth court and found guilty at a crime. Further,
it is only at the age of eighteen that you finally cease to be a
‘minor’, with special legal protection. In the eyes of the law, an
eighteen-year-old has reached the ‘age of majority’. But even then,
there are certain things you cannot do. For example, you cannot
stand for the Parliament until you are twenty-one. Let us understand
these rights age-wise:
From birth
- A child can have a deposit or current
bank account right from her or his birth. However, the account
cannot be in her or his name. This is because an account holder
has to be able to sign own name.
Five years
- A child must start her or his education
at this age.
Seven years
- At this age a child can have a deposit
account in a National Service Bank and draw money on own
signature.
Ten years
- At the age of ten, a child can be found
guilty of a crime under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. She or
he can even be convicted of a
criminal offence but will be tried in a youth court unless
the offence is serious, such as
murder.
Eleven years
- At this age a child can have a deposit
account in the Trustee Savings Bank and can draw money on own
signature.
Twelve years
- At this age a child becomes eligible to
buy a pet.
Thirteen years
- At the age of thirteen, a child can do
light work as permitted under local authority by-laws. They are:
She or he can work between 7.00 am to 7.00 pm from Monday to
Saturday and between 7.00 am to 10.00 am on a Sunday. These
hours do not include school hours or for more than two hours on
a school day or Sunday (and not lifting or carrying heavy
weights).
Fourteen years
- A child can be taken into a bar at the
age of fourteen. The child must not consume alcohol there; she
or he can drink wine, beer or cider with a meal in another part
of the pub or in a restaurant.
Fifteen years
Sixteen years
- There are many rights that a child
acquires at this age. She or he can join the armed forces (with
parents’ consent),
marry with the consent of parents
or a magistrate, consent to have sexual intercourse
(heterosexual or homosexual),
can buy beer, cider or sherry in a restaurant (but not in a bar,
off-licence or supermarket), can buy tobacco, can ride a moped
or scooter up to 50cc, and can leave a school and take job.
Seventeen years
- At this age a child can drive a car or
van with up to eight seats and maximum weight of 3500 kg. She or
he can also drive a motorbike, a three-wheeler vehicle or a
roadroller.
Eighteen years
- Eighteen is the ‘age of majority’. On
reaching this age, one can drive a goods vehicle of up to 7.5
tonnes, apply for and obtain a passport, vote in general and
local elections, and join the armed forces without parents’
consent. She or he can sign contracts,
sue and be sued and can even marry without parental consent. It
is at this age only that one can start to buy alcoholic drinks
in a pub, bar, off-licence or supermarket. Further, one can also
obtain a credit card
and can get a tattoo.
Twenty-one years
- At this age one can stand for council or
parliamentary elections and can drive a lorry or a bus.
