Rule of sevens

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The rule of sevens, in English common law, establishes three age brackets for determining a young person's capacity to be responsible for torts and crimes. Children under the age of seven cannot be held to have capacity, while there is a rebuttable presumption that a minor aged 7 to 14 lacks capacity; for those aged 14 to 21, there is a rebuttable presumption of capacity.^[1] The rule of sevens is also used in determining capacity to give informed assent to participate in clinical trials.^{[citation needed]}