Summary of law reform necessary to achieve full prohibition

Corporal punishment is prohibited in all settings, including the home.

Current legality of corporal punishment

Home

Corporal punishment is prohibited in the home under a 2004 amendment to the Act on the Protection of Children and Guardianship Administration (the Child Protection Act) (1997), which came into force in 2005. Article 6.5 states: “The child has the right to be respected his/her human dignity, to be protected against abuse – physical, sexual and mental violence –, failure to provide care and injury caused by any information. The child shall not be subjected to torture, corporal punishment and any cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.”

Schools

Corporal punishment is unlawful in schools under section 10(2) of the Public Education Act (1993), which states: “The personality, human dignity and rights of children and students shall be respected, and protection has to be provided against physical and spiritual violence. Children and students may not be subject to physical admonishment, torture, cruel and humiliating punishment or treatment.”

Penal system

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. It is not a permitted sentence under the Penal Code (1978), the Statutory Regulation on the Execution of Penalties and Measures or the Criminal Procedure Code (amended 2006).

Corporal punishment is unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions. According to the Decree of the Minister of the Interior no. 19/1995 on the procedures in police jails, detainees shall be treated with respect for their human dignity, and torture and cruel, inhuman or humiliating treatments are prohibited. The Penitentiary Act states that human dignity must be respected and prohibits torture and merciless, inhuman or humiliating measures.

Alternative care

Corporal punishment is unlawful in alternative care settings under the Child Protection Act (see above).

Prevalence research

None identified.

Recommendations by human rights treaty bodies

Committee on the Rights of the Child

“The Committee notes with appreciation a number of positive developments in the reporting period, including: …

d) the prohibition of corporal punishment in the home by amendment of the Act on the Protection of Children in 2004….

“The Committee is concerned that corporal punishment in schools, despite being prohibited by the Hungarian Child Education Act, continues to occur.

“The Committee recommends that the State party undertake measures, including corrective ones, in order to sensitise professionals within the educational system, in particular teachers, about their obligation to refrain from resorting to corporal punishment. In addition, the Committee recommends that awareness-raising campaigns be implemented in order to inform children of their rights.”
(17 March 2006, CRC/C/HUN/CO/2, Concluding observations on second report, paras. 3 (d), 54 and 55)

European Committee of Social Rights

“The report states that the Act on the Protection of Children provides that corporal punishment is prohibited, and that children may not be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhumane, or humiliating punishment of treatment (Article 6 Sub-paragraph (5)). In pre-schools and schools, the personality, human dignity, and rights of a child and/or student must be respected, and he or she must be protected against physical and emotional violence. Under the Public Education Act, no child or student may be subjected to corporal punishment, torture, cruel, inhuman, or humiliating punishment or treatment (Article 10, Sub-paragraph (2)). The Committee notes that Hungarian penal law practice recognises the exercise of the right of house discipline within the family. It notes that there is no prohibition in legislation of corporal punishment in the home.

“The Committee recalls that Article 17 requires a prohibition in legislation against any form of violence against children, whether at school, in other institutions, in their home or elsewhere. It considers that any other form of degrading punishment or treatment of children must be prohibited in legislation and combined with adequate sanctions in penal or civil law. Therefore, it considers that since there is no prohibition in legislation of corporal punishment in the home, the situation cannot be considered to be in conformity with Article 17 of the Charter.

…

“The Committee concludes that the situation in Hungary is not in conformity with Article 17 of the Charter on the grounds that:

- corporal punishment in the home is not prohibited….”
(March 2005, Conclusions XVII-2)

“As regards corporal punishment of children, the Committee wishes to know whether legislation prohibits corporal punishment of children in schools, in institutions, in the home or elsewhere, as it finds the report unclear on this point….
(2003, Conclusions XVI-2, page 442)