Lawfulness of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is lawful in the home.

The Code for the System of Protection of the Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents (2003, amended 2007) defines physical abuse as any physical harm that is intentionally meted out against children or adolescents and in which the person who causes harm is in a superior position (article 396), but does not explicitly prohibit corporal punishment by parents. Article 12 of the Code reaffirms the child’s and adolescent’s right to personal integrity and the responsibility of the family and the state and society to protect them against ill-treatment. Article 74 states that parental authority may be suspended when the rights of the child are threatened or violated and their security and well-being are put at risk as a result of a disciplinary measure. Child abuse is punished under article 396.

Other laws giving protection are the Law Against Domestic Violence (1997), the Constitution (2002), the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Schools

Corporal punishment is unlawful in schools under the Education Act (1997, amended 2007) and the Code for the System of Protection of the Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents (articles 48 and 49). Under the Code, the Ministry of Education must annually establish and distribute the official disciplinary regulations to be applied in each school. Any type of corporal, financial or collective punishment is prohibited. Private educational institutions may establish their own disciplinary regulations but they must conform to the principles in the Code.

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. Article 8 of the Constitution prohibits punishment which violates physical integrity.

Corporal punishment is considered unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions under the Code for the System of Protection of the Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents, but there is no explicit prohibition. Article 303 of the Criminal Code, as amended by article 1 of the Law Against Domestic Violence, states that any act involving corporal punishment that causes physical or mental harm or suffering constitutes an act of torture or barbarity. We have found no evidence that this effectively prohibits corporal punishment in places of detention for persons under 18 years.

Alternative care

There is no explicit prohibition of corporal punishment in all alternative care settings.

Workplace

No information.

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee notes the clear definition of physical abuse established in Law No. 136-03 and welcomes that corporal punishment has been made unlawful in schools and abolished as a sentence in the justice system. The Committee is concerned that no explicit prohibition for corporal punishment exists for all other settings, including in the educational setting, in institutions of alternative care and in the family environment.

“The Committee recommends that the State party explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings by law as a matter of priority and provide training for parents and all professionals involved with children on alternative forms of discipline, in line with the Committee’s General Comment No. 8 (2006) on the right of the child to protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment (CRC/C/GC/8).

“With reference to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on violence against children (A/61/299), the Committee recommends that the State party:

1. Take all necessary measures for the implementation of the overarching and setting-specific recommendations contained in the report of the independent expert of the United Nations study on violence against children;
2. Use these recommendations as a tool for action in partnership with civil society and in particular with the involvement of children, to ensure that every child is protected from all forms of physical, sexual and mental violence and to gain momentum for concrete and, where appropriate, time-bound actions to prevent and respond to such violence and abuse;
3. Seek technical assistance from UNICEF, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the above mentioned purposes.”

(1 February 2008, CRC/C/DOM/CO/2 Unedited Version, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 45, 46 and 47)

“While the Committee welcomes the adoption of special legislation criminalizing domestic violence, the designation of April as the Month of Child Abuse Prevention and the creation of a hotline for abused children, it expresses its concern that physical and sexual abuse – within and outside the family – widely exist in society. Concern is also expressed at the insufficient allocation of resources, both financial and human, as well as the lack of adequately trained personnel to prevent and combat such abuse. The insufficiency of rehabilitation measures and facilities for victims and their limited access to justice are also matters of concern.

“In the light of articles 19 and 39 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party take effective measures, including reinforcing current multi-disciplinary programmes and rehabilitation measures, to prevent and combat child abuse and ill-treatment of children within the family, at school and in society at large. It suggests that law enforcement should be strengthened with respect to such crimes; adequate procedures and mechanisms to deal with complaints of child abuse should be reinforced in order to provide children with prompt access to justice and to avoid impunity for the offenders. Furthermore, educational programmes should be established to combat traditional attitudes within society regarding this issue…”
(21 February 2001, CRC/C/15/Add.150, Concluding observations on initial report, paras. 33 and 34)