England and Wales operate under the 1969 Children and Young Person's Act. Criminal jurisdiction of the juvenile court encompasses juveniles 10-16. The courts have both criminal and civil jurisdiction. Both criminal and civil procedures are adversarial, with criminal procedures being essentially the same as for adult criminal courts. The juvenile court differs from the adult court in sentencing options, its venue, and its privacy. Proceedings are presided over by lay magistrates. Scotland, under the 1968 Social Work Act, established the Children's Hearings System. Hearing panels consist of three lay members who consider cases informally. One criticism of the system is that its informality creates the potential for abusing the juvenile's rights. The juvenile justice system of Northern Ireland is similar to the sytems of England and Wales. It differs from the English system in that the full-time chairman of each court is a legal professional who is assisted by two lay representatives. Juvenile justice practitioners in the United Kingdom are awaiting the government's action on a review group's recommendations that civil care proceedings be separated from criminal proceedings for juveniles and that all but hardcore juvenile offenders be excluded from formal court processing. Less serious offenders would be handled outside the court system.