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Summary: General overview of Trinidad and Tobago'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 Treaties ratified by Trinidad and Tobago must be incorporated through further legislation in order to become part of national law. Courts have been willing to use international treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to inform their decisions and as interpretive guidance, but where a provision of the Convention conflicts with national legislation, the domestic legislation will prevail. Constitution: Chapter I of the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago contains a number of rights provisions that apply regardless of age and a small number of provisions that explicitly address the rights of children can be found throughout the Constitution: Section 4(f) entitles a parent or guardian to provide a school of his or her own choice for the education of his or her child or ward Sections 133(7), 134(4) and 134(6): make reference to children with regards to pension rights Legislation: the Children's Act 2012 contains many of the legal provisions relevant to children, but many other Acts contain provisions that specifically address children's rights. Legislation of particular relevance includes, but is by no means limited to: The Children Act, No. 12 of 2012 The Young Offenders Detention Act, Ch. 13:05 The Corporal Punishment (Offenders Not Over Sixteen) Act, Ch. 13:03 The Sexual Offences Act, No. 27 of 1986 The Age of Majority Act, Chap. 46:06 The Family Law (Guardianship of Minors, Domicile and Maintenance) Act, Chap. 46:08 The Adoption of Children Act, No. 67 of 2000 The Children's Authority Act, No. 64 of 2000 The Children's Community Residences, Foster homes and Nurseries Act, No. 65 of 2000 The Miscellaneous Provisions (Children) Act, No. 66 of 2000 The Equal Opportunity Act, No. 69 of 2000 Legal Research The website of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago publishes its Acts (http://www.ttparliament.org/publications.php?mid=29) and Bills (http://www.ttparliament.org/publications.php?mid=28) and the Constitution (http://rgd.legalaffairs.gov.tt/Laws2/Constitution.pdf). Legislation is also available through the website of the Ministry of Legal Affairs (http://www.legalaffairs.gov.tt/LRC2.aspx) and the Commonwealth Legal Information Institute (http://www.commonlii.org/tt/legis/num_act/). In addition, the GlobaLex project at New York University has published a guide to legal research in Trinidad and Tobago (http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Trinidad_Tobago1.htm) and the World Legal Information Institute (http://www.worldlii.org/links/2749.html) and the U.S. Law Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/law/help/guide/nations/trinidad.php) provide access to a selection of legal and governmental resources. All resources are available in English. Case Law CRC Jurisprudence The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been cited by the Privy Council in relation to Trinidad and Tobago, including in relation to the best interests of the child in deportation proceedings (http://www.crin.org/Law/instrument.asp?InstID=1432). Case Law Research The official website of the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago maintains a searchable database of cases in national courts (http://www.ttlawcourts.org/index.php/law-library/search-librarys-holdings) and the World Legal Information Institute has published a selection of the decisions of the Court of Appeal (http://www.commonlii.org/tt/cases/TTCA/) and the High Court (http://www.commonlii.org/tt/cases/TTHC/). The British and Irish Legal Information Institute maintains a database of the decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/). All resources are available in English. Compliance with the CRC In its Concluding Observations of 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the extensive list of legislation enacted in 2000 with the aim of harmonising national legislation with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However; the Committee expressed concern that much of this legislation had not entered into force at the time of the State's report. In depth analysis The Committee was particularly critical of the States laws in relation to economic exploitation of children. The Committee expressed concern at the insufficient enforcement of domestic legislation on child labour as well as the lack of programmes to protect children from exploitative labour. With regards to the minimum age of employment (12 years), the Committee urged the State to raise this to the level required by ILO Convention 138. Noting the employment of children aged 16 to 18 in sugar factories at night, the Committee also urged the State to adopt legislation to eliminate unlawful work and implement ILO Convention 182. With regards to the prevalence of sexual exploitation of children and sex tourism in Trinidad and Tobago, the Committee urged the State to enforce existing legislation to ensure the protection of boys and girls from sexual exploitation and abuse, including through legislation and the introduction of a comprehensive policy addressing sexual exploitation of children and avoiding the criminalisation of victims. The Committee also expressed particular concern that possession of child abuse imagery, including that accessed through the internet, was not explicitly prohibited under national law and urged the State to adopt the Obscene Publications and Child Publication Bill of 2001 to address this concern. The justice system was also an aspect of national law about which the Committee expressed pervasive concerns. The Committee particularly called on the State to raise its low minimum age of criminal responsibility; to ensure that children are never sentenced to life imprisonment; to guarantee the separation of children from adults in facilities for deprivation of liberty; and to ensure that deprivation of liberty is used only as a matter of last resort. Current legal reform projects Please contact CRIN if you are aware of any current legal reform projects.