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Summary: General overview of Marshall Islands' 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 Under article V, section 1(4) of the Constitution of the Marshall Islands, no international agreement finally accepted by or on behalf of the Marshall Islands after the Constitution became effective can, of itself, have the force of law in the State. This means that the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not incorporated into national law and requires additional domestic legislation to make it part of the national legal system. It is not clear if national courts have made reference to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and, if so, to what effect. Constitution: Article II of the Constitution of the Marshall Islands (“the Bill of Rights”) sets out a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age, but there are also a small number of provisions throughout the Constitution that specifically address the rights of children: Article II, section 4(7): provides that no person can be compelled to give evidence in a criminal case against his or her child Article II, section 6(2): provides that no person under the age of 18 can be sentenced to “imprisonment at hard labour” Article II, section 12(2): prohibits discrimination against any person, whether through law or judicial action, on bases including place of birth, family status or descent. Article XIV, section 1: provides that the definition of a child within the Constitution includes adoptive children Legislation: there is no comprehensive or consolidated Children's Act in domestic law, rather provisions relevant to children can be found in a number of Codes and Acts. Legislation of particular relevance to children includes, but is by no means limited to: The Criminal Code The Juvenile Procedure Act The Labour (Minimum Conditions) Inquiry Act 1983 The Child Abuse and Neglect Act 1991 The Education Act 1991 The Adoption Act 2002 The Birth Registration and Marriage Registration Act 1988 The Sale of Tobacco to Minors Act 1966 Legal Research The Constitution of the Marshall Islands is available through the website of the Office of the President (http://rmigovernment.org/about_your_government.jsp?docid=1) and a database of consolidated legislation is available through the Pacific Legal Information Institute (http://www.paclii.org/mh/legis/consol_act/). The International Labour Organisation website, NATLEX (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=MHL), and the World Law Guide (http://www.lexadin.nl/wlg/legis/nofr/oeur/lxwemis.htm) also provide access to a selection of national legislation. In addition, the GlobaLex initiative at New York University has published a guide to legal research in the South Pacific (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/South_Pacific_Law1.htm) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/links/2130.html) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/marshall.php) provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources. All resources are in English. Case Law 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 Research The decisions of the Supreme Court (http://www.paclii.org/mh/cases/MHSC/), the High Court (http://www.paclii.org/mh/cases/MHHC/) and the Traditional Rights Court (http://www.paclii.org/mh/cases/MHTRC/) of the Marshall Islands are all available through the website of the Pacific Legal Information institute. All resources are in English. Compliance with the CRC In its Concluding Observations of 2007, the Committee on the Rights of the Child noted measures taken by the Marshall Islands to review domestic legislation with a view to harmonising it with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee expressed concern, however, that a large proportion of that legislation remained incompatible with the Convention. In depth analysis The Committee also identified a number of more specific areas of domestic law that failed to meet the standards of the Convention. Several of the Committee's observations related to violence against children. In particular, the Committee expressed concern that corporal punishment remained lawful in the family and had not been formally prohibited in alternative care settings. The Committee also raised the issue of the increase in child abuse and neglect, particularly in urban areas. With regards to these concerns, the Committee urged the State to prohibit corporal punishment in all settings and to establish effective mechanisms to receive, monitor and investigate complaints regarding cases of child abuse. With regards to adoption, the Committee reiterated its concern expressed in previous Observations at the practice of “customary adoptions” and the lack of measures taken to prevent illegal inter-country adoption. The Committee urged the State to criminalise illegal adoption and to take steps to implement the provisions of the Adoption Act. The Committee also expressed extensive concerns about the Marshallese juvenile justice system. Specifically, the Committee was critical of the “extremely harsh conditions of detention in the main prison in Majuro”, that children were not separated from adult prisoners and that there was no minimum age of criminal responsibility in domestic law. The corresponding recommendations urged the State to set a minimum age of criminal responsibility in conformity with the Convention, to ensure that persons under 18 are only detained as a measure of last resort and that the conditions in detention are in compliance with international standards. Current legal reform projects Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.