Overview
- The Constitutional Court’s Sentencia 2/2026 strikes down Law 32330 and affirms 18 as the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
- All ordinary criminal cases opened against 16- and 17-year-olds under the annulled law must be archived and refiled in the juvenile system under family judges and prosecutors.
- Adolescents currently held in INPE prisons are to be moved immediately to diagnostic and rehabilitation centers designated by PRONACEJ.
- The ruling resolves challenges brought by the Ombudsman’s Office, the Judiciary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Ayacucho Bar Association.
- The court urges INPE to adopt a specialized framework that keeps youths separate from adults and focuses custody on classification, education, and reintegration, while noting Congress may legislate only within constitutional and international standards.