culpa incapax
ˈkʊlpa ɪnˈkapaks
noun phrase
Literal translation
incapable of fault
Legal meaning
In South African criminal law, culpa incapax refers to the rebuttable presumption that a child of a certain age lacks criminal capacity and cannot be held criminally responsible unless the State proves capacity. The concept traditionally applied to children between seven and fourteen years, requiring proof that the child could distinguish between right and wrong and act in accordance with that appreciation. The Constitutional Court considered the position of child offenders and criminal capacity in Centre for Child Law v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Examples
- The State had to rebut the presumption of culpa incapax before the child accused could be convicted.
- Counsel argued that the ten-year-old was still culpa incapax at the time of the offence.
- The court examined expert evidence on whether the child remained culpa incapax.