Date: October 2008Council of Europe campaigns for full prohibition 

Council of Europe Commissioner criticises UK’s record on corporal punishment 

The Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Mr Thomas Hammarberg, has published a memorandum following his visits to the UK in February and March/April 2008, in which he strongly criticises laws which allow “reasonable punishment” and “justifiable assault”. Referring to these laws in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, the Commissioner emphasises that:

"laws allowing the definition of ‘justifiable assaults’ and ‘reasonable punishments’ on children are not compliant with international human rights standards. That children, uniquely, should have less protection under the criminal law from assault is additionally discriminatory and unimaginable, given children’s obvious special vulnerability."

The Commissioner also criticises the UK’s recent review of the law in England and Wales in which, he says, the Government “appears to have overlooked or dismissed the overwhelming response to the broad consultation which was in favour of banning physical punishment of children and for children to enjoy the same rights to protection as adults”. He notes that as long as corporal punishment remains lawful, the Government’s statement that it does not condone smacking “lacks credibility”.

Drawing attention to the recommendations to the UK to prohibit all corporal punishment by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child – the latter for the third time – the Commissioner recommends to the UK:

"that the ‘reasonable punishment’ defence should be removed completely by amendment to section 58 of the Children Act 2004 for England and Wales and to article 2 of The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. He also recommends that section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 should be reformed similarly to remove the concept of ‘justifiable assault’ of children and ensure that the criminal law applies equally to assaults on children."

Download: the full text of the Memorandum, together with the reply of the UK Government.

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