Regional frameworks for safeguarding children: The role of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

This article discusses the safeguarding movement in the context of child protection. After providing it’s key principles and precepts, the relevant provisions of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which link to safeguarding are stipulated, as well as a brief description given of the mandate of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Some aspects of the practical working methods of the Committee are thereafter considered. With reference to the Committee’s interface with non-governmental organisations, some proposals concerning the Committee and the safeguarding movement are put forward

Realising children's rights to legal representation and to be heard in judicial proceedings: an update

South Africa still has some way to go towards ensuring that children's rights to legal representation and to be heard are fully implemented in relation to judicial proceedings affecting them. Nonetheless, some emerging practices point to an ongoing expansion of the realisation of these rights. This article charts some key developments in law, policy and implementation that constitute such practices. The article also argues that apart from merely serving as the child's voice in the courtroom setting, effective child lawyering is additionally contingent on a commitment to seeking out children in need of services, on an emphasis more broadly on stakeholder relationships in the sector, and a willingness to adjust to changing circumstances.International Bibliography of Social Science

A developing dialogue – children’s rights, children’s law and economics: surveying experiences from Southern and Eastern African law reform processes

Law reform in southern and eastern African countries to domesticate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC), to synthesize common, civil and customary laws, and to modernise and codify a myriad of outdated statutes affecting children that were inherited from the colonial era has been an ongoing project in numerous states in the region since the first comprehensive Children’s Act, that of Uganda, in 1996. These law reform processes are, in many instances, still ongoing

Seen and heard: new frontiers in child participation in family law proceedings in South Africa

This article examines the principle of child participation in a legal context, focusing first on the international and constitutional law framework, and thereafter on the principle as it has permeated the South African Children’s Act. Next, a brief examination of the application of the principle in practice and case law is provided, with the focus on family law and related proceedings. The concluding section of the article assesses the new challenges and potential changes posed by the increasing acceptance of the principle that children be allowed to express their views in matters affecting their interests in family law proceedings.Department of HE and Training approved lis

A short history of time: charting the contribution of social development service delivery to enhance child justice 1996-2006

By charting the contribution of social development service delivery to enhance child justice in South Africa from 1996 to 2006, this article argues that the contribution of the social development sector to child justice has been substantial. It describes a range of developments in relation to assessment, diversion, pre-trial incarceration, the residential care system and probation. It is concluded that although the Child Justice Bill has not been finalised in the South African Parliament, social welfare services to children in trouble with the law have expanded to the extent that there has been a developmentally appropriate and more progressive child justice system.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Surrogacy, South African style

This article reviews the Act’s provisions concerning surrogacy and raises some questions for consideration

Protecting orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho: an assessment of the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act, 2011

INTRODUCTION: This chapter reviews specific aspects of the Children’s Protection and Welfare Act 2011 of Lesotho, insofar as they pertain to the situation of orphans and vulnerable children. The chapter commences with a brief outline of the context in which the legislation was adopted, including a brief overview of relevant country data. The substantive aspects of the Act pertaining to orphans and vulnerable children are thereafter discussed. Notably provisions relating to non-discrimination, to health, to registration of orphans and vulnerable children, to protection of surviving children’s property and provisions concerning fostering and adoption are featured. Finally an overall assessment of the scheme of the Act in addressing the plight of orphans and vulnerable children is given.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Deprivation of children's liberty 'as last resort' and 'for the shortest period of time': how far have we come? And can we do better?

Commencing with a brief historical overview of detention of children in South Africa, and legislative attempts to curb its use, this article reviews all forms of deprivation of liberty under the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 and attempts to assess at a practical level whether - or not - progress is being made in the quest for the minimal use of deprivation of liberty.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Section 54: Obligation to report commission of sexual offences against children or persons who are mentally disabled

INTRODUCTION: The duty to report the knowledge of the commission of sexual offences against certain vulnerable victims is newly provided for in this section of the Criminal Law (sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act. It draws inspiration from two prior reporting obligations related to the reporting child abuse and neglect: the first encapsulated in the Child Care Act 74 of 1983, now repealed in toto by the Children's Act 38 of 2005 (as amended); and the second provided for in s 4 of the Prevention of Family Violence Act 133 of 1993. The latter section, which was not repealed by the coming into operation of the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, has also been replaced by the coming into operation of the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, has also been replaced with the Children's Act 38 of 2005, which came fully into force on 1 April 2010.Department of HE and Training approved lis

The jurisdiction of the Regional Courts Amendment Act, 2008: some implications for child law and divorce jurisdiction

The promulgation of the Jurisdiction of the Regional Courts Amendment Act, 31 of 2008 (hereafter the JRCAA) in 62 large urban magisterial districts on 9 August 2010 (Women's Day) heralds a potentially drastic transformation of the practice of civil procedure in South Africa. This article focuses on its implications for family law and, especially, child law proceedings. The various dimensions of jurisdictional reform are first explained with reference to the Children's Act 38 of 2005 and the JRCAA, whereafter their import is analysed. It will be questioned whether the provisions of the JRCAA were drafted with sufficient care, and why no reference was made to the provisions of the Children's Act 38 of 2005. The potential difficulties occasioned by the new jurisdictional rules will be described. In conclusion, comments are made about the positive and less positive aspects of the JRCAA, and suggestions for reform are provided.Department of HE and Training approved lis