372.In any event, the child offender benefits from the presence of his/her parents or guardians at all hearings under article 10 of the Ordinance 62 038. 373.Children are not forced to give testimony or to confess under criminal proceedings. In practice their testimonies are collected for information. 374.Decisions handed down at first instance may be appealed. The related judgments of the Court of Appeal may be subject to further appeal as well as those rendered by the criminal courts. 375.The criminal responsibility of a minor is set at 13 years, below this age, the child is considered unable of discernment, which justifies his/her irresponsibility. 376.Due to his/her special status, the child benefits from mitigating circumstance attached to his/her minority. The penalty is reduced in accordance with Articles 44, 45 and 46 of Ordinance No. 62-038 of 19 September 1962 on the protection of children. 377.Thus, according to Article 35 of Ordinance No. 62-038, if a minor under 13 years is convicted, the juvenile court may simply take an educational measure against him/her: returned to the parents, guardian, to the person who had custody or a trustworthy person. 378.Similarly, according to article 36: "If a conviction is established in respect of a minor from 13 to 16 years, the juvenile court will deliberate on the issue of criminal responsibility:  If the criminal responsibility is agreed upon, the extenuating circumstances will be enforceable, the sentence pronounced against the minor shall not rise above half of that to which he/she would have been convicted if he had been an adult at the time of the offense If on the contrary, the criminal irresponsibility is decided, the juvenile court will order on one of the educational measures mentioned in the preceding section, or will order the placement of the minor in a rehabilitation centre for a fixed period which shall not exceed the time which the person reaches the age of 21 years. » 379.Finally, according to article 37 of the same order, if a minor 16 to 18 is convicted, the provisions of Article 36 shall apply. However, the juvenile court shall have the power to rule by special reasoned decision of the extenuating circumstances.. ii. Children deprived of freedom, including all forms of detention, imprisonment or placement in a custody centre and compliance with the provision of Article 5 (3) of the Charter prohibiting the imposition of the death penalty on children (Article 17 2 (a)) 380.Article 13 of the Constitution in fine enshrines the exceptional character of preventive detention. 60