Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: General overview of Mali'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 Preamble to the Malian Constitution proclaims a determination to defend the rights of women and children, and Title I of the Constitution includes a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age. Only one article, however, specifically addresses the rights of children: Legislation: there is no comprehensive or consolidated Children's Code in Malian law, rather provisions of particular importance to children can be found in a number of Codes, Acts, Orders and Decrees. 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 lack of legislation to address a diverse range of children’s rights issues also emerged from the Committee's Observations. The Committee was critical of the insufficient legislation and regulation to address the problems raised by inter-country adoption, as well as the absence of laws to penalise all forms of child abuse. Similarly, the Committee urged the State to remedy the absence of a legal framework to address the specific needs of children with disabilities, by adopting “an inclusive rights-based legal framework” to address those needs. With regards to the justice system, the Committee welcomed reforms under way to integrate the “Riyadh Guidelines” the “Beijing Rules” but expressed concern at “the limited progress achieved in establishing a functioning juvenile justice system throughout the country”. In particular, the Committee urged the State to expedite legal reforms; to ensure that deprivation of liberty is only used as a measure of last resort for the shortest appropriate period of time; to improve conditions in detention; to ensure that children have access to legal aid and defence; to establish specialised juvenile courts; and to develop and implement alternatives to detention, such as diversion and restorative justice. Current legal reform projects
Under article 116 of the Constitution of Mali, properly ratified treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, take precedence over domestic laws. Malian courts can in principle apply the Convention in place of any conflicting national law, but it is not clear if they regularly do so.
The Constitution Finder project at Richmond University has published the Malian Constitution in English (http://confinder.richmond.edu/admin/docs/Mali.pdf) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation provides access to the Constitution in French (http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=7446). The official government website publishes news on recently enacted legislation in French, but does not maintain a database of legislation (http://www.primature.gov.ml/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=100001). The World Law Guide provides access to a selection of Malian legislation in French (http://www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/oeur/lxwemai.htm) as does the International Labour Organisation website, NATLEX (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=MLI). In addition, the GlobaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Mali (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Mali1.htm) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/mali.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/2696.html) both provide a selection of links to relevant 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.
The website of the Supreme Court (Cour Suprême) of Mali publishes a selection of its decisions (http://www.cs.insti.ml/contenu_page.aspx?pa=33) and the Constitutional Court (http://www.cc.insti.ml/contenu_page.aspx?pa=27) (Cour Constitutionnelle) publishes its own decisions. Both resources are available in French.
In its Concluding Observations of 2007, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the fact that the Convention on the Rights of the Child takes precedence over national legislation, and that legislation such as the Child Protection Code and the Family Code had been introduced to implement aspects of the Convention. However; the Committee expressed concern that much of the law was not in conformity with the Convention, and called on the State in particular to ensure the adoption and implementation of provisions and regulations on abuse, domestic violence, sexual and economic exploitation, abduction, and trafficking of children.
Discrimination within Malian laws emerged as a theme from the Committee's 2007 Observations, particularly with regards to girls, and vulnerable groups of children. The Committee expressed particular concern that although the draft Individuals and Family Code would set a uniform minimum age for marriage for boys and girls (18 years) the Code had not yet been enacted. The Committee also raised concern about the laws on citizenship which prevented children deriving nationality from their mothers. More generally, the Committee urged the State to combat discrimination against children with disabilities, children born out of wedlock and children from disadvantaged families, including through legislation.
A Family Code was adopted by the Malian National Assembly in 2009, but was sent back to the Parliament for a second reading. At the time of writing, the new Code had not been enacted.