Being in effect from 1875, the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery essentially states that no underage wizard or witch, i.e. no one under the age of seventeen, is allowed to use magic outside of the so-called Exception Zones. Whereas there are many reasons for why the Decree actually is reasonable, there are many situations in which the Decree may actually hinder students' possibilities to learn magic to the best of their possibilities. Pondering these aspects, everyone has to decide for him- or herself whether it is actually a reasonable restriction that has been placed upon us.

The major idea behind establishing the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery is without a doubt the International Statute of Secrecy. While most students may be responsible in their use of magic, there are some who would put the statute at risk if being allowed to use magic. As it is said, it is better to be safe than sorry. Right now, the seperation between the magical and the non-magical world seems to be complete, mainly due to the work of the Accidental Magic Reversal squad in case of bigger accidents. Though there are many areas in which both worlds would surely be able to interact quite well, there are many disadvantages. If however all school children were allowed to use magic whenever they wanted, it would surely lead to the (re)discovery of the magical world by non-magical people.

Another aspect that supports the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery is a moral background. While most adults do not interact with the mundane world on a regular basis, it is to be assumed that they will not use magic to manipulate major events in their favor. Children however have a different set of morals than most adults, which may lead to them manipulating events in their favor. Being faced with a locked gumball machine and no money, many children would probably get their chewing gum in a different way, applying a simple alohomora charm. In the case of older children, they may easily confuse a vendor to sell them alcoholic beverages or get a tattoo without their parents' permission. This is actually prevented by the Decree.

However, the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery hinders the students in their possibilities of learning magic. There are many people who are unable to work properly at home and achieve better results working for example at other places. Chosing this places to be sufficiently hidden, the risk for accidentally exposing the existence of magic is minimal. Additionally, there is the question of how these Exception Zones are defined. For those who are travelling with their families, this is potentially problematic, as they may not be allowed to practice regularly due to their changing temporary homes.

Moreover, it is highly suspicious to see the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery at work in case of a violation of said degree. Taking into account the experiences of one Harry Potter, the Ministry's office is apparently able to tell exactly which spell is done at what time. Looking at a bigger picture, this is slightly worrisome: Who is to say that no one is actually still looking at adult witches' and wizards' spells? It is impossible to insure that one might have even the smallest bit of privacy if a ministry official is for example able to say when you used something as private as a contraception charm. While magic is not allowed on a general basis, there are no exceptions for certain spells, so the screening of the exact kind of spell is not only unneccessary, but furthermore a huge breech of every witch and wizard's privacy.

Another aspect is the way that magic is tracked. If it is tracked by the means of the wand which is used, the Decree is easily avoided by those who have been raised in a magical family: they have to take the wand of a family member who is of age already and will be able to practice magic whereever they want to. Taking the wand of another person without their consent or knowing might lead to them facing charges under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, which would be rather ridiculous. If every person is tracked by themselves, it would be difficult to track who did magic if there is a multitude of people at the very same place. Additionally identical twins are known to have the same DNA, so it is possible that these trackers would confuse them as well and thus not be a safe way of tracking underage magic, either. Lastly it is possible that magic is tracked with respect to areas. This puts those students at a disadvantage who do not have adult witches and wizards living in their neighbourhood. If magic is spotted in a muggleborn's neighbourhood, who is to say that it was this child who did this piece of magic?

Assuming that there were a way of actually tracking magic in a reliable way, the procedure following a violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has to be considered, too. As we know from Harry Potter's experiences, the student in question will receive a ministry owl, warning them that underage magic was not allowed if it was their first violation. On the second violation, this message will invite them to a disciplinary hearing which may lead to dire consequences. However, these messages do not take into account that there might be a real emergency that may lead to the student's use of magic. As the Decree is widely known, the number of violations should be relatively low. Hence, it would be easily possible to actually have a response team sent to an address where the Decree was violated. Like that, the student may receive a healthy shock in the case of a real violation, but more importantly get help on a short-term notice if this is necessary.

This leads to many questions that ought to be answered.

1. How does the actual tracking of underage magic work? Doesn't it violate everyone's privacy?
2. How are the Exception Zones defined? What of those who travel a lot / have multiple homes / ...?
3. What is the response time in case the student had to use magic to defend himself or others? How is it possible to insure that they do not receive but a warning?
4. Are we safe from someone pinning violations of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery on us?

Lead on, MacDuff, research awaits us!