Parliament is set to approve regulations that would allow a law raising children's criminal liability from 10 to 12 years.

President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Child Justice Amendment Act into law in May 2020. This act amended the Child Justice Act of 2008.

On Wednesday, Alta Botha from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development told the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services that the amendments included increasing the minimum age of criminal capacity from 10 years to 12 years.

It also retains the rebuttable presumption retained for children who are older than 12 years but younger than 14 years. This means children 12 to 14 can be prosecuted, but there is an assumption that they don't have criminal capacity.

The amendment removes the requirement that prosecutors must consider children's cognitive ability when determining whether or not to prosecute a child since they are not equipped to do so.

It also states that the criminal capacity of a child will only be addressed during plea and trial proceedings in a child justice court and not during the preliminary enquiry and for diversion purposes.

Botha told the committee the act can only be implemented once the regulations were amended.

The regulations are consequential in nature, Botha said.

Among the changes, if the regulations are substituting the expression "10 years" with the expression "12 years" and substituting the expression "appropriate adult" with the expression "appropriate person" wherever that expression appears in the regulations.

The department did the required consultations for the change of regulations. The committee didn't raise any issues with the regulations.

"The act must be implemented as soon as possible," said committee chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe.

The committee will adopt a report next week. Thereafter, it will be considered by the National Assembly.

Once this is done, the regulations can be gazetted, and the law will come into effect.