The reason 16-year-olds are considered minors when it comes to criminal responsibility is purely due to Malta's international obligations, Robert Abela has said. 

Abela was responding to comments made by Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech in court on Wednesday, when two teenagers were charged with assault in connection with a violent attack in Valletta that put a 15-year-old into the operating room the following morning.

The magistrate noted that while 16-year-olds can vote, run for office or even get married, they are viewed as minors within the judicial system. 

"I took note of the magistrate's comments," Abela said on Friday. 

“The reason our law grants minors an attenuation to minors is due to considerations tied with the charter of the Council of Europe. This is the only consideration,” he said.

According to the Juvenile Court Act, people aged under 18 who are accused of a crime are to be tried by a Juvenile Court, which has all the powers of a magistrate's court. Youths aged 16 to 18 who are convicted of a crime receive a sentence that is reduced by one or two degrees, according to the criminal code. 

Following the Valletta assault, Abela went on record calling for the courts to "revise their sentencing policy" in such cases, to ensure people felt safe in their communities and police officers were not "demoralised". 

Speaking on Friday, he however said he believes that the court has the necessary tools to jail perpetrators if necessary, even if they are minors. 

"If the court finds them guilty and feels it should sentence them to jail time, then the law in its current form is sufficient to allow it to do so," Abela said.  

He also noted the police force’s immediate reaction to last week’s assault as they conducted a “strong investigation” and emphasised that this “fills me with courage that we have a police force that is functioning well.”

On Monday, Abela admitted that he did not feel it was safe to allow his daughter to walk alone in Valletta following Sunday’s attack.

"Up until recently, I felt it was safe to let my 10-year-old daughter roam around Valletta, but yesterday, for the first time, I did not feel too comfortable about it," he told Times of Malta.

"I want the courts to revise their sentencing policy to avoid demoralising the police and to help our society regain that sense of security that our country is known for."