http://www.crin.org/docs/England_and_Wales.doc

The UK ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 16 December 1991. It has entered reservations on Article 37 of the Convention which concerns the entry into, stay, and departure of non-nationals and the housing of young people in conflict with the law with adults where there is a lack of suitable accommodation or facilities. The UK has still not ratified the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

The UK is also a State Party of the European Convention on Human Rights.

A number of child rights violations have been brought against the UK at the European Court of Human Rights. Most of these have dealt with corporal punishment in various settings. Corporal punishment of children remains legal in the home, but is banned in all other settings. Domestic jurisprudence includes a custody case litigated on the basis of CRC Article 12, the right to be heard.

This legal guide of England and Wales focuses on the implementation of Article 1 on the definition of the child and the minimum legal age defined by national legislation for exercising certain rights, such as medical treatment without parent consent, and Article 40 on the administration of juvenile justice.

Read legal analysis here

Summaries of child rights case law brought to domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights 

Previous Publication (general) items

• 13/11/2007: YEMEN: Report of Children's Parliament Field Visits
• 13/11/2007: UNITED STATES: Cruel and Unusual: Sentencing 13- and 14-Year-Old Children to Die In Prison
• 13/11/2007: Workshop on Independent Child Migrants: Policy debates and dilemmas
• 12/11/2007: OPT: Israeli Violations of the Right to Life: Palestinian Child Fatalities during the First Half 2007
• 09/11/2007: INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION: Questions raised by the scandal in Chad

Organisation Contact Details:

Child Rights International Network
East Studio
2 Pontypool Place
London
SE1 8QF
Tel: +44 (0)207 401 2257
Email: info@crin.org
Website: www.crin.org

Last updated 24/11/2008 08:36:48

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.