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Summary: General overview of Grenada's national legal provisions on children's rights, including guidance on how to conduct further research.
National laws on children's rights Status of the CRC in national law Constitution- The Constitution of Grenada contains no provisions that make specific reference to the rights of children. Legislation- The Grenadian legal system contains a number of general codes that have particular relevance to children's rights, and the Criminal Code is especially pertinent with respect to issues of juvenile justice. Other relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to: Child Protection Act No. 17 of 1998 Domestic Violence Act No. 15 of 2001 Prisons Act 1980 Education Act No. 21 of 2002 Adoption Act of 1990 Adoption (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 1994 Public Health (School Children Immunisation) Act of 1980 Evidence Act CAP 92 of 1990 Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1992 Registration of Births and Deaths Act No. 41 of 1991 Legal Research Case law Case Law Research Compliance with the CRC In depth analysis: Moreover, the system of juvenile justice was criticised more generally, including concerns about the extremely low age of criminal responsibility (7 years) and the absence of a full-time family court with judges and lawyers specialised in child rights. Although the use of corporal punishment is discouraged in the Education Act, and the Standards for Childcare Homes prohibits the use of such punishment, the Committee expressed concern in 2010 that corporal punishment remained lawful in the home and that authorised persons in schools were permitted to administer corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure. Corporal punishment also remains a sentencing option in the judicial system. Current legal reform projects
The CRC has not been directly incorporated into Grenadian law and has been referred to by the Government as merely “an influential document”; as such, it does not create enforceable rights in national courts. Nonetheless, the CRC could in theory be cited in national courts for interpretive guidance, as regional courts that hold jurisdiction over Grenada have done.
The official website of the Government of Grenada (http://www.gov.gd/index.html) aims to provide a section on the laws of Grenada, but as of 2012 this resource was not yet available. The Constitution of Grenada can be found on the Georgetown University website (http://pdba.georgetown.edu/constitutions/grenada/grenada.html), and the International Labour Organization's NATLEX database provides a selection of national legislation. In addition, the U.S. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/grenada.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/2726.html) have compiled a collection of relevant government and legal research links.
CRC Jurisprudence
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national courts that reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Case law from national courts in Grenada is not readily available online; however, regional courts of appeal that review the decisions of these courts publish their decisions online. The Caribbean Court of Justice publishes its judgements online (http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/old/judgments.html), as does the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (http://www.eccourts.org/judgments.html). Decisions of the Privy Council are available both on the website of the latter (http://www.eccourts.org/judgments.html#privy_council) and through the website of the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/).
The Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed with regret in its 2010 Concluding Observations “that the Convention has still not been integrated into national legislation” in Grenada. While the Committee did note that a number of bills on issues relating to child rights were in existence, most had not been passed and there were concerns “that there are insufficient human and material resources to draft legislation and to implement legislation that has been passed.”
The Committee on the Rights of the Child found the issue of discrimination to be an area of particular concern. In domestic law, the minimum age of consent to sexual activity refers only to girls, leaving boys particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. Indeed, offences pertaining to sexual abuse and exploitation are conspicuously absent in domestic law.
The Child (Protection and Adoption) Bill passed through the parliament of Grenada in October 2010. In addition, several bills relevant to children's rights were moving through the legislative process at that time, including the Child Bill, the Childcare and Adoption Bill, the Domestic Violence Bill and the Juvenile Justice Bill. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has noted, however, that there may be insufficient human and material resources to draft and implement this legislation in Grenada.