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Summary: General overview of Mongolia'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 Constitution of Mongolia (1992) contains a number of provisions that affect the rights of children, but only four address children specifically: Art. 16(5) provides for “the right to material and financial assistance in old age, disability, childbirth and childcare and in other circumstances as provided by law” Art. 16(11) provides that “the State shall protect the interests of the family, motherhood and the child” Art. 16(14) gives a citizen the right “not to testify against himself/herself, his/her family, or parents and children” Art. 17 provides for “a sacred duty for every citizen to work, protect his/her health, bring up and educate his/her children and to protect nature and the environment” Legislation: Mongolian law contains a number of codes that cover general areas of the law. Of particular relevance to the rights of children are the Civil Code, Criminal Code, Labour Code and the Family Code. Other relevant legislation includes, but is by no means limited to: The Law on Protection of Child Rights (2003) The Family Law (1999) The Law against Domestic Violence (1999) The Law on Monetary Assistance to the Child and Family (2006) The Law on Education (2006) The Law on Primary and Secondary Education (2002) The Law for Citizens with Disabilities (2005) The Law on Temporary Detention of Children without Supervision (1994) Legal Research: Case law Case Law Research Compliance with the CRC In depth analysis: In its latest observations on the state of child rights in Mongolia, the Committee expressed particular concern about the levels of domestic abuse, neglect and violence towards children. Specifically, the Committee recommended that legislation be passed, and enforced, prohibiting corporal punishment of children in all aspects of their lives. Concern was also expressed about the inadequate response of the penal system to rape and incest. While the relevant legislation might be formally adequate, the Committee highlighted the failure to properly enforce the law, with the consequence that serious domestic sexual abuse is not prosecuted nor punished. The Committee also noted that in the investigation of sexual offences, victims are often treated as offenders and do not receive adequate protective services. Current legal reform projects
Article 10(3) of the Mongolian Constitution provides that “international treaties to which Mongolia is a Party shall become effective as domestic legislation upon the entry into force of the laws on their ratification or accession.” As of the latest report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, 160 out of the 373 laws in force in Mongolia included provisions stating that should they conflict with international treaties, then the treaty will take precedence. As such, the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are enforceable in national law, but will only take precedence over national law with respect to a little under half of national statutes.
The Mongolian Parliament (Great Hural) maintains an official website in Mongolian (http://www.parliament.mn/) and in English (http://www.parliament.mn/indexa.htm), with links to adopted laws and legislation under consideration in Mongolian. The GlobaLex initative at New York University has published project provides an excellent guide to the legal system of Mongolia (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/Globalex/Mongolia1.htm), and the U.S. Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/mongolia.php) and World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/238.html ) have assembled a selection of links to useful legal resources. An English translation of the Constitution is also available online (http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/mg__indx.html).
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 Supreme Court of Mongolia maintains an official website in Mongolian (http://www.supremecourt.mn/) and offers limitd information in English (http://www.supremecourt.mn/english/index.htm).
In its 2010 Concluding Observations, the Committee on the Rights of the Child “note[d] the efforts taken by the State party to align domestic legislation with the Convention,” but “remain[ed] concerned that some legislative provisions are not in full conformity with the principles and provisions of the Convention and that implementation of legislation is slow.”
While welcoming the legal reforms in the areas of social welfare for children, education and HIV/AIDS, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has consistently highlighted a number of areas where the law of Mongolia fell short of the rights and duties laid out in the Convention. While legislation on discrimination was considered to be well developed, the Committee expressed concern that discrimination remains widespread, whether with respect to sex, ethnicity, disability, living standards or residential location. The system of juvenile justice was also identified as an area needing broad legislative reform to tailor the needs of the judicial process to children, and to prevent their ill-treatment in pre- and post- trial detention.
Following up on recommendations of the Committee, the Mongolian government set up a working group to review legislation of the Law on Temporary Detention of Children without Supervision. The proposed reforms seek to address the criticism of Mongolia's regime for dealing with children living on the streets.