CRIN believes that all children must have full access to justice, and that strategic litigation is a powerful means to establish and enforce children's rights at the national, regional and international levels.
What is strategic litigation?
Strategic litigation, sometimes also called impact litigation, involves selecting and bringing a case to the courtroom with the goal of creating broader changes in society. People who bring strategic litigation want to use the law to leave a lasting mark beyond just winning the matter at hand. This means that strategic litigation cases are as much concerned with the effects that they will have on larger populations and governments as they are with the end result of the cases themselves.
Resources
To encourage NGOs and advocates to consider challenging violations of children's rights in the courtroom, this page contains links to resources that relate to strategic litigation.
Children's Rights: A Guide to Strategic Litigation
This guide has been produced to help those working for children's rights to understand what strategic litigation is and to consider it as an option for effecting change for children. The guide is aimed at legal and non-legal NGO staff and can be adapted to local settings and procedures. Read the guide to strategic litigation.
Children in Court CRINmail
CRIN's monthly legal newsletter offers editorials, a global review of children's rights cases, and descriptions of other legal news and resources that relate to children's rights advocacy. Sign up to receive our Children in Court CRINmail.
CRC in Court: Case Law Database
This database contains judgments from high-level national, regional and international courts around the world in which the CRC has been used in the court’s decision-making process. Each decision is presented in summary form with plain English explanations of the background, significance, and CRIN's assessment of the decision's consistency with the CRC as we understand it. Case summaries also include excerpts from relevant judicial discussions of the CRC and, where possible, links to full text decisions. For more information, see our CRC in Court: Case Law Database page.
Strategic Litigation on Children’s Rights - Case Studies
CRIN’s collection of case studies illustrates how strategic litigation works in practice by asking the people involved about their experience. By sharing these stories we hope to encourage advocates around the world to consider strategic litigation to challenge children rights’ violations.
Further information and resources
- Legal advocacy - Strategic litigation is a form of legal advocacy. See what other forms of legal advocacy can be used to challenge violations of children’s rights.
- Complaints - Legal complaints about rights violations are a form of legal advocacy. See what types of legal complaints are available to challenge violations of children’s rights at the international, regional and national levels.
- Legal assistance - Need legal advice or help bringing a case? See where you can get legal assistance, and examples of legal assistance that has helped children.
- Access to justice for children - CRIN’s global research project focusing on the status of the CRC in national law, the status of children involved in legal proceedings, the legal means to challenge violations of children’s rights and the practical considerations involved in challenging violations.
- Convention on the Rights of the Child: From Moral Imperatives to Legal Obligations. In search of effective remedies for child rights violations - This conference strongly encouraged NGOs to consider using strategic litigation to advance children's rights. Final and summary reports, conference speeches and background documents are available.
- Strategic Impact Litigation on Children's Rights in Eastern and Southern Africa Seminar - Seminar and report by Centre for Child Law.
We hope to add resources on a regular basis, and would very much appreciate your help in drawing our attention to additional information on the subject - please email us at [email protected] with any comments or suggestions.
