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.
Mozambique has ratified the CRC and it forms part of national law, however its provisions do not take precedence over national law and it is not directly applicable. Children must be represented in court by a parent or other relative, but in the case of a conflict of interests between the parent and the child, the court may appoint a guardian to represent the child. Although there is a Juvenile Court in the capital of Maputo, there are no equivalent specialised courts in the rest of the country, meaning that children’s rights cases come before the regular courts with the consequent weak quality of the judicial decisions and the delay of the legal procedures of processes involving juvenile issues.
