SOMALIA: National Laws

Summary: General overview of Somalia'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

Somalia has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and so the Convention is not part of national law and cannot be cited in national courts.

Constitution: Title II of the the Provisional Constitution of Somalia includes an article specifically dedicated to the rights of children. Article 29 contains provisions on children's rights, including in relation to the definition of a child; name and nationality; protection from mistreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation; child labour; detention of children; legal aid; armed conflict; and the child's best interests.

A number of further articles throughout the Constitution contain rights provisions that apply regardless of age, and a small number specifically address the rights of children:

  • Article 28(2): provides that mother and child care is a legal duty of the State.

  • Article 28(3); provides that every child has the right to care from his or her parents education and instruction. Where this care is not available from the family, it must be “provided by others”. The article explicitly states that this right applies to street children and children of unknown parents.

  • Articles 30(1) and (2): provide that education is a basic right for all Somali citizens and that every citizen shall have the right to free education up to secondary school.

  • Article 30(8): requires the teaching of Islam to be compulsory for pupils in public and private schools. Schools owned by non-Muslims are exempted from these measures.

Somaliland is a self proclaimed, and de facto autonomous, non-sovereign republic within Somalia. The Republic has it's own Constitution, Part Three of which includes a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age, and a small number that specifically address the rights of children:

  • Article 15(3): requires that the Islamic religion be compulsory at all levels of education.

  • Article 1595): provides that the State shall accord a first priority to primary education and shall endeavour to spread primary education to the regions and districts.

  • Article 15(7): provides that it is national policy that primary education shall be free.

  • Article 15(8): provides that the State shall give special attention to the promotion and encouragement of physical education and sports, which must be recognised as one of the basic subjects in the educational curriculum of state and other schools.

  • Article 19: provides that the State shall be responsible for the health, care, development and education of the mother and the child.

  • Article 112(1): places the administration of education up to elementary / intermediate school level within the responsibility of the regions and districts so far as they are able to do so.

Puntland is an autonomous region of Somalia with its own Constitution. The Constitution includes a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age and a small number that specifically address the rights of children:

  • Article 19(1): defines a child as any person under the age of 15.

  • Article 19(2): enshrines children's right to life, name, citizenship, upbringing, care and education.

  • Article 19(3): requires the prohibition of any labour that can endanger, hurt the life, behaviour, upbringing, care or education of children.

  • Article 19(4): prohibits abortion unless carried out under a specialised prescription where the life of the pregnant woman is endangered.

  • Article 20(1): requires the State to guarantee and promote the protection of orphans, persons with disabilities, “mentally affected and abandoned children” and any citizen who is incapable of taking care of him or herself.

  • Article 21(1): requires the State to promote the public health care of the mother and child.

  • Article 85: places intermediate and elementary school education within the powers and functions of the District Law Making Council

Legislation: the Republic of Somaliland and the region of Puntland both substantially govern their own affairs, including through their own Constitutions and laws. There is no comprehensive Children's Act in any of the regions of Somalia, 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:

In Somalia:

  • The Penal Code 1962

  • The Criminal Procedure Code (Legislative Decree No. 1 of 1 June 1963)

  • The Civil Code (Law No. 37 of 2 June 1973)

  • The Labour Code (Law No. 65 of 18 October 1972)

In Somaliland:

  • The Juvenile Justice Law 2003

  • The Penal Code 1962

  • The Somaliland National Human Rights Commission Law 2010

In Puntland:

  • The Juvenile Courts and Reformatories law 1970

  • The Penal Code 1962

Legal Research

The Provisional Constitution of Somalia is available in English through the website of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (http://unpos.unmissions.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=RkJTOSpoMME%3D&tabid=9705&mid=12667&language=en-US), the Constitution of Puntland is available through Garoweonline (http://files.garoweonline.com/dastuurpl.pdf) and the Constitution of Somaliland is available through the website of the United Nations Development Programme (http://www.so.undp.org/docs/Somaliland%20in%20English.pdf). The Official government of Somalia website contains limited information on the political structure of the country (http://www.somaligov.net/). The International Labour Organisation website, NATLEX, provides access to a selection of national legislation in Somali and English (http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.country?p_lang=en&p_country=SOM) and the Somaliland Law website, provides access to a selection of Acts and Bills (http://www.somalilandlaw.com/). In addition, the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/somalia.php) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/so/) provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources.

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

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any online resources that provide access to the case law of Somlia's courts.

Compliance with the CRC

Somalia has signed but has not yet ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and so the Committee on the Rights of the Child has not reviewed the compatibility of the State's laws with the Convention.

Current legal reform projects

Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.  

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.