Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: General overview of Kiribati'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 The Convention on the Rights of the Child has not been incorporated into the national law of Kiribati, but the courts are able to use the provisions of the Convention when interpreting ambiguities in domestic legislation. If domestic legislation and the Convention explicitly contradicted each other, domestic courts would have to apply domestic legislation. Constitution: Chapter II of the Constitution of Kiribati contains a number of rights provisions that apply to children as to adults, but there are a limited number of provisions that explicitly address the rights of children throughout the Constitution: Article 5(1)(g): allows for limitations on the right not to be deprived of one's liberty where the deprivation is carried out by court order or with the consent of the parents of a person under the age of 18 years Article 11(4): provides that no-one may be required to receive religious instruction, to take part in any religious ceremony or to or to attend any religious ceremony or observance of any religion other than his or her own. This constitutional provision will not be violated, however, where parents or guardians of a person under the age of 18 consent to the participation of a child in such religious activity. Articles 103(1) and 105(2): make reference to children with regards to the pension rights of children and dependants. Legislation: there is no comprehensive or consolidated Children's Act in the law of Kiribati, rather provisions relevant to children can be found in a number of Codes, Acts and Ordinances. Legislation of particular relevance to children includes, but is by no means limited to: The Penal Code The Prisons Ordinance The Employment Ordinance The Education Ordinance The Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration Ordinance The Marriage Ordinance The Liquor Ordinance Note: these Ordinances have been substantially amended by subsequent legislation. Legal Research The Constitution of Kiribati is available through the official website of the national parliament (http://www.parliament.gov.ki/content/constitution) as is legislation enacted since 1994 (http://www.parliament.gov.ki/content/list-acts). The Pacific Legal Information Institute has published legislation enacted since 1977 (http://www.paclii.org/ki/legis/num_act/). In addition, the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/ki/) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/kiribati.php) both provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources. All resources are available in English. Case Law CRC Jurisprudence Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any cases in national law which reference the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Case Law Research The Pacific Legal Information Institute provides access to the decisions of Kiribati's courts, including the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Magistrates' Court (http://www.paclii.org/databases.html#KI) and the British and Irish Legal Information Institute maintains a website of the decisions of the Privy Council (http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/). All resources are available in English. Compliance with the CRC In its Concluding Observations of 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern that there was no specific legislation in national law to protect children's rights and that domestic legislation was not in full compliance with the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee urged the state to take steps to reform its domestic legislation, including that relevant to customary law, to bring it into conformity with the Convention. In depth analysis Several more specific concerns also emerged from the Committee's 2006 Observations, including in relation to the definition of a child within domestic law. The Committee expressed concern that various definitions existed within Kiribati's laws which could “lead to practical contradictions and confusion”. The corresponding recommendation urged the state to amend all legislation relevant to the issue to ensure that all children under the age of 18 are defined as children. Adoption was another area of national law that emerged from the report as falling short of the standards set by the Convention. The Committee expressed concern at the absence of regulations and monitoring for inter-country and domestic adoption and at the prevalence of informal adoption. The Committee urged the State to strengthen its efforts to prevent illegal adoptions and to ensure that legislation and practice is brought in line with the Convention, including by ensuring that the best interests of the child are fully respected. The Committee also raised a number of concerns about the “serious practical shortcomings of the juvenile justice system and the inconsistencies that exist between various domestic laws and regulations”, including the lack of specific legislation on juvenile justice. More detailed concerns included the detention of children aged between 6 and 18 with adults; the lack of alternatives to pre-trial and other forms of detention; the absence of due process guarantees such as to a hearing before a judge before deprivation of liberty can be carried out; and the poor conditions that children face in police stations and other places of detention. The corresponding recommendations urged the State to carry out comprehensive reforms to address these deficits in the juvenile justice system. Current legal reform projects Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.