The Children’s Charter Amendment Act 1923 made some minor amendments to the sections of the Children of the State Act 1918 that provided for children’s courts. The full title of this act was “An Act to amend ‘The Children’s Charter'” (Act no. 13 Geo. V no.21) and it was repealed in 1936 by The Infants Welfare Act 1935 (Act no.26 Geo.V No.96).
The Children’s Charter Amendment Act 1923 repealed Section 26 of the Children of the State Act which provided for children’s courts to be established by a special proclamation of the Governor. These courts would have one or more special magistrates within the proclaimed area. If no special magistrate was available or the place was not within the proclaimed area, a Police Magistrate or two Justices of the Peace could officiate instead. The new wording was more or less the same as the old, except that it added that a matter could be dealt with by the court, even if it had taken place outside the proclaimed area.
The Act also amended Section 52 so that a child could be sentenced according to the adult law if the offence involved a summary conviction, that is, a less serious offence that could be tried by judge without a jury.