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Summary: General overview of Guinea'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: Title II of the Constitution of Guinea contains a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age, but also a small number that specifically address the rights of children: Legislation: Guinea's Children's Code contains a great deal of the domestic legislation in relation to children, but other relevant provisions can be found in a range of Codes and Acts. Relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to: Legal Research Case Law Case Law Research Compliance with the CRC In depth analysis The inadequate legal protection of children with regards to a number of forms of violence was also a prominent feature of the Committee's 2013 Observations. Noting the high number of children, especially girls, subjected to violence and abuse at home, at school and in alternative care settings, the Committee urged the State to prohibit all forms of abuse in law and to establish protection mechanisms to monitor and report cases of abuse and neglect. While noting the prohibition within the Children's Code of “all forms of physical and psychological maltreatment” in the family, schools and institutions, urged the State to explicitly prohibit corporal punishment in all settings. Juvenile justice was also an area of the law which the Committee considered did not meet the standards set by the Convention. Specific concerns, included the lack of specialised courts, judges, prosecutors and other professionals outside of the capital; the common use of deprivation of liberty for children as young as 13 years; the use of lengthy pre-trial detention; the detention of children with adults; the detention of children without notifying parents; and the failure to provide children with access to legal assistance. The Committee urged the State to undertake reforms, across the justice system to address these concerns, including by extending specialised juvenile justice institutions across the country and by ensuring that deprivation of liberty, including pre-trial detention, is used only as a measure of last resort. Current legal reform projects
Article 151 of the Constitution of Guinea provides that properly ratified and published treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child have an authority superior to that of domestic laws. In principle, this should mean that where the Convention contradicts domestic legislation, courts should be required to apply the Convention. It is not clear whether the Convention has been used in Guinea's courts, however, and if so to what effect.
The official website of the government of Guinea has published the Constitution (http://www.guinee.gov.gn/constitution2010.php) and provides access to a database of decrees and orders (http://www.guinee.gov.gn/lesdecrets.php) in French. The International Labour Organisation website, NATLEX, provides access to a selection of legislation in French (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=GIN). In addition, the GlobaLex initiative at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Guinea (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Guinea1.htm) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/gn/) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/guinea.php) both provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources.
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.
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any online resources that provide access to the case law of Guinea's courts.
In its Concluding Observations of 2013, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the adoption of the Children's Code, which intended to harmonise national legislation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, the Committee expressed concern that the plural legal system, which includes customary law, has resulted in a lack of clarity as to the law affecting children and could result in discrimination against children. The Committee urged the State to ensure that in cases of conflict between the Children's Code and other domestic legislation, that the Code prevails.
Among the most persistent concerns raised by the Committee over the compatibility of Guinean law with the Convention, was the issue of discrimination. The Committee expressed particular concerns over a number of provisions in the Civil Code, including those that assert that the husband is the “head of the family” (art. 324); that the head of the family can choose where the family resides (arts. 247 and 324); that in the event of divorce, women can only be awarded custody of their children up to the age of seven (art. 359); and that adultery was considered a ground for divorce when committed by a wife, but only if conducted in the family home if committed by a husband (arts. 341 and 342). The Committee urged the State to take prompt measures to remove such discriminatory laws from it's legislation.
Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current law reform projects.