Reasonable chastisement defence removed in corporal punishment cases

Ireland’s Children’s Minister James Reilly has signed a statutory instrument removing the common law defence of “reasonable chastisement” in cases of corporal punishment.

As of midnight, section 28 of the Children First Act 2015 has come into force, ruling out the defence for parents accused of smacking their children.

It amends the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 to note that the “common law defence of reasonable chastisement is abolished”.

Dr Reilly said: “We have not created any new offence but rather we are removing something that has its roots in a completely different era and societal context.”

Earlier this year, the European Committee of Social Rights said the continued existence of the defence was in violation of article 17 of the European Social Charter, a legally-binding treaty to which Ireland is a party.

In a letter sent by the UN Secretary General on Violence Against Children, Marta Santos Pais, Ireland was congratulated on “making an important contribution to the global movement towards a world where all children are free from violence”.