One of the aims of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is to accord due recognition to the fact that 'the child, by reason of his phsyical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth'. However, a question mark hangs over the extent to which 'special safeguards and care' can negatively impact on the rights of the child and result in discrimination against the child in the guise of 'his physical and mental immaturity'. This volume explores the extent to which children's rights are secured at the national level; and the reasons why children's rights have or have not been recognised and secured by various states at the level of domestic law. It also explores the difficulties inherent in the accordance of rights to children in order to ascertain whether they do in fact derive from the particular nature of children or whether they mask a reluctance of states to fulfil their domestic and international rights obligations to children, and whether such reluctance constitutes 'discrimination against children'. The volume thus explores the theoretical and legal underpinnings of gender and race discrimination, at both the domestic and international level, and examines the extent to which these may be applied to the area of children's rights.
Author(s): Claire Breen
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 248
Contents......Page 8
Introduction......Page 10
1. Introduction......Page 18
2. Children's Rights: Liberation, Protection or (Il)legitimate Differentiation?......Page 19
2.1. Child Protectionism......Page 20
2.2. Child Liberation......Page 22
3. Children's Rights, Interests, and the Law......Page 25
4.1. Equality and Non-Discrimination in International Human Rights Law......Page 29
4.2. Limits to Non-Discrimination......Page 33
5. Equality and Age-Based Differentiation......Page 37
6. Assessing Age-Based Distinctions......Page 44
6.1. Assessing Age-Based Distinctions – the Case of New Zealand......Page 50
6.2. Some Legislative and Judicial Responses......Page 55
7. Conclusion......Page 58
1. Introduction......Page 62
2. Difference or Discrimination? Paternalism and Autonomy in the Context of Medical Treatment......Page 63
3.1. International Human Rights Law and the Child's Right to Medical Treatment......Page 65
3.2. New Zealand Domestic Legislation and the Child's Right to Medical Treatment......Page 66
4. Judicial Interpretation of the Child's Right to Medical Treatment......Page 70
4.1. New Zealand Jurisprudence – Medical Treatment of the Young Child......Page 71
4.2. The Medical Treatment of Adolescents......Page 82
4.3. Limiting the Child's Right to Medical Treatment and the Child's Right to Refuse Medical Treatment: Differential or Discriminatory Treatment?......Page 86
5. Conclusion......Page 87
1. Introduction......Page 90
2. International Human Rights Law and Human-Assisted Reproduction......Page 92
2.1. Substantive Human Rights and AHR......Page 94
3.1. The Right to Identity of Donor-Conceived Children in the United Kingdom......Page 105
3.2. The Right to Identity of Donor-Conceived Children in Australia......Page 109
4. International Obligations and Overseas Jurisdictions: the Impact for New Zealand Legislation......Page 111
4.1. The Rights of New Zealand Children born of Assisted Human Reproduction......Page 112
5. AHR and the Right to Identity in New Zealand – Advancing Openness or Discrimination......Page 116
5.1. The Potential for Discrimination Remaining in Current Legislation......Page 117
5.2. Advancing Children's Rights with Increased Openness......Page 122
6. Conclusion......Page 123
1. Introduction......Page 124
2. The Corporal Punishment of Children: A Historical and Philosophical Framework......Page 125
3. Corporal Punishment of Children: Recent Academic Debate in New Zealand......Page 128
4. Corporal Punishment as a Violation of the Child's Human Rights......Page 131
5. Discrimination or Differentiation? Section 59 within the Framework of New Zealand Domestic Legislation......Page 146
6. Conclusion......Page 158
1. Introduction......Page 160
2.1. Constitutional Protection......Page 161
2.2. Legislative Protection......Page 162
3.1. F.N. v Minister for Education......Page 164
3.2. T.D. v Minister of Education and Others......Page 166
3.3. D.G. v The Eastern Health Board and Others......Page 170
4.1. D.G. v Ireland......Page 174
4.2. The Rights of the At-Risk Child under International Human Rights Standards......Page 177
5. Discriminatory Detention of the At-Risk Child......Page 180
6. Conclusion......Page 182
1. Introduction......Page 184
2.1. The Right of the Child to Respect for Family and Private Life......Page 185
3. The Rights of Children Born of Asylum Seekers under the European Convention of Human Rights......Page 187
4.1. Constitutional Protection......Page 196
4.2. Legislative Protection......Page 201
5. Judicial Interpretation of the Rights of Irish-Born Children of Asylum Seekers: Lobe, Osayande and Others v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform......Page 203
5.1. Lobe: Disregarding the Rights of the Child-Citizen, Discriminating against the Rights of the Child......Page 216
6. Conclusion......Page 219
Conclusion......Page 222
Bibliography......Page 228
Index......Page 238
