Date: June 2005

Landmark European human rights ruling on equal protection

Responding to human rights complaints brought against five countries, the European Committee of Social Rights has confirmed (June 2005) that supreme court judgments in Italy and Portugal do prohibit all corporal punishment of children. This means that more than a third (16 of 46) member states of the Council of Europe now give children equal protection under their assault laws.

In addition to Italy and Portugal, the other countries where children have equal protection are: Sweden (1979), Finland (1983), Norway (1987), Austria (1989), Cyprus (1994), Denmark (1997), Latvia (1998), Croatia (1999), Bulgaria (2000), Germany (2000), Iceland (2003), Hungary (2004), Romania (2004) and Ukraine (2004). For details see states with full abolition.

The Committee of Social Rights found that Belgium, Greece and Ireland are in breach of their human rights obligations under the European Social Charter or Revised Social Charter because they have not prohibited all corporal punishment. Article 17 of the Charter requires a prohibition in legislation against any form of violence against children, whether at school, in other institutions, in their home or elsewhere. For details of the Committee’s decision, see http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/Esc/

These landmark rulings are the result of “collective complaints” registered by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in 2003. To date, only 13 member states of the Council of Europe have accepted the collective complaints procedure.

Greece has already signalled that it will legislate quickly to comply with the decision.

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