The constitutional rights of children

The significant difference between modernity and past eras is that modernity emphasises choice and autonomy and the past relied upon fate. The author enquires both into the effectiveness of constitutions in seeking to protect the autonomous rights of children and whether a global culture of children's constitutional rights is beginning to develop. Children's civil and political constitutional rights are analysed as well as their economic, social and cultural constitutional rights, as it is the poorest children, who many unthinkingly dismiss as being beyond the scope of justiciability and the courts. Article published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

A social contract for the twenty-first century: socio-economic rights and wealthier democracies

With the reluctance by many in the Anglo-American world to countenance an incorporation of socio-economic rights into justiciable Bills of Rights, this policy brief explores the potential of the social contract as a complementary approach to the positivist arguments of international human rights law. Social contract theory has evolved in the twenty-first century into a progressive theory that encompasses socio-economic rights.</p

A commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 40 : child criminal justice

This volume constitutes a commentary on Article 40 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is part of the series, A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides an article by article analysis of all substantive, organizational and procedural provisions of the CRC and its two Optional Protocols. For every article, a comparison with related human rights provisions is made, followed by an in-depth exploration of the nature and scope of State obligations deriving from that article. The series constitutes an essential tool for actors in the field of children’s rights, including academics, students, judges, grassroots workers, governmental, non- governmental and international officers. The series is sponsored by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office

A social contract for the twenty-first century: socio-economic rights and wealthier democracies

With the reluctance by many in the Anglo-American world to countenance an incorporation of socio-economic rights into justiciable Bills of Rights, this policy brief explores the potential of the social contract as a complementary approach to the positivist arguments of international human rights law. Social contract theory has evolved in the twenty-first century into a progressive theory that encompasses socio-economic rights.Published as part of the series 'Courts and the Making of Public Policy' and 'The Social Contract Revisited'

A Call for implementing minimum age condition to protect young athletes' human rights

Sport is considered a favorable activity for children. Through participating in sport, children can acquire several skills and develop character traits like cooperation, teamwork, resilience, and focus. Nevertheless, it has been argued that children's rights might be violated in sport at an elite level, primarily due to the intensive training given at an early age. More specifically, it was reported that approximately 20 percent of children involved in competitive sports may be at risk of abuse, violence, or exploitation, while 10 percent may be at risk of extreme abuse. This paper focusses on the lack of international law provisions to protect children who participate in elite sports and hence argue for a more effective protection. This gives rise to the need for an enforcement mechanism in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) specifically for elite-level sports. Thus, the international law could have a positive impact on domestic laws regarding young athletes in competitive sports. As a possible way through, this paper will examine the idea of imposing minimum age limit, including legal examples, as a potential solution to help protect children's rights in sport.qscienc