Constitutionalisation of Children's Rights

Constitutionalised, children's rights become an important frame of reference for the formulation and implementation of legislation and strengthen children's standing before the courts. This book is a first effort to make developments and case law more accessible.

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This book looks at the domestication of children's rights through the means of constitutionalisation. Landmark judgments from constitutional courts from across the globe have risen to prominence; for example, the constitutional courts of Indonesia and Zimbabwe outlawing child marriage and the constitutional court of Columbia on the assignment of a gender to an intersex born child, to name a few. Further, the CRC Committee continues to recommend State parties to consider enshrining children's legal rights at the apex level of law, and there is some interest in, for instance, Germany, in pursuing such an approach. An explicit reference to children's rights in national constitutions may prevail in cases of conflict and it can provide binding standards for legislative, policy, and regulatory measures. Since the adoption of the CRC thirty years ago, a growing body of jurisprudence in domestic courts has served to illuminate the corresponding challenges and limitations.

Constitutionalised, children's rights become an important frame of reference for the formulation and implementation of legislation and strengthen children's standing before the courts. However, many leading constitutional developments remain inaccessible due to language barriers. Constitutionalisation of Children's Rights is a first effort to make developments and case law more accessible. It is an important and invaluable resource for academics and practitioners alike.