In Germany there are no criminal proceedings against children under age 14, which is the age of criminal responsibility. The German approach to juvenile offenders adds welfare aspects to the basis of ordinary criminal justice provisions. There is no judicial pretrial investigation, juvenile proceedings are not public, and the maximum prison sentence for a juvenile is 10 years. The legal situation in France and Spain is similar, although those two countries have systems of judicial pretrial investigation. In France a presiding judge in a juvenile court can order that proceedings be continued in his office, a more intimate atmosphere in which the accused may find it easier to cooperate. In Spain the exclusion of the public in juvenile cases is not a legal rule but the court usually orders such exclusion in the juvenile's interests. Spain has started Parliamentary discussion on how to improve its procedures. Germany is witnessing developments in relation to child witnesses, particularly victims of child abuse, which may affect the position of accused juveniles.