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Prohibition is still to be achieved in the home, schools, penal institutions and alternative care settings.
The parental “right of correction” is recognised in French customary law. Explicit prohibition should be enacted of all corporal punishment, however light, by all persons with authority over children.
Explicit prohibition of corporal punishment should be enacted in relation to all educational settings, including public and private, full and part time, and including religious institutions, all alternative care settings, including public and private day care, residential institutions, foster care, etc, and in relation to disciplinary measures in all institutions accommodating children in conflict with the law.
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Home
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French law applies in Saint Martin, including the Criminal and Civil Codes. Corporal punishment is lawful in the home, under the parental “right of correction” in customary law.
Children have limited protection from violence and abuse under the French Criminal and Civil Codes.
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Schools
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There is no explicit prohibition in law of corporal punishment in schools and “light correction” is tolerated in the same way as it is for parents. Under French law, an 1889 High Court ruling allowed a “right to correction” for teachers. A 2000 ruling stated that this did not apply to habitual and non-educational corporal punishment, implying that it did apply to the use of corporal punishment in certain circumstances.
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Penal system
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Corporal punishment is unlawful as a sentence for crime. As in France, it is considered unlawful as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions under the French Criminal Code (1994) and Criminal Procedure Code (1994), though there appears to be no explicit prohibition.
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SAINT MARTIN