Submitted by Denitsa on
This report is part of CRIN's access to justice for children project, looking at the status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (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.
Iraq acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 15 June 1994. At the time of ratification the CRC was self-executing and could have been invoked before the Iraqi courts; however, it is unclear what the current status of the Convention is, or whether its self-executing character remains, since the promulgation of the new Constitution in 2005. The Constitution confirms that litigation is a right guaranteed and protected for all; therefore, children and their representatives can bring actions before national courts to challenge violations of the child’s rights but must do so their parents, legal guardians, or court-appointed custodians if they have not yet attained 18 years of age. Iraq has a juvenile justice system that is very much focused on the prevention of delinquency and the rehabilitation of juveniles that find themselves in such a situation; it remains unclear, however, just how effective this system is in practice.
