Children's Rights

The Court of Appeal has determined that it has limited jurisdiction to review a sentence imposed on a child who attained maturity by the time of an appeal. It was held that the court’s powers to review the severity of sentence involving detention were limited by statute to either quashing a co

Ireland should raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years old and ensure that the detention of children is used only as a "last resort", the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has said. The general age of criminal responsibility in Ireland is 12 years, but there is al

Children cannot be compelled to visit their grandparents if they do not want to following a ruling of Italy's Supreme Court. A lengthy legal battle has culminated in a judgment from the court stating that grandchildren were not obliged to have a relationship “they do not enjoy, and do not want

Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC has been appointed as the Irish government's special rapporteur on child protection for a three-year term. Ms Gallagher is an accomplished international human rights lawyer and barrister, originally from Dublin and based in Doughty Street Chambers in London.

Irish law must be urgently changed to ensure that defendants who turn 18 while awaiting trial continue to be dealt with through the child justice system, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) has been told. Molly Joyce, acting executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT),

The rights of children in Northern Ireland have regressed, according to three reports produced by the Children's Law Centre and submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The reports, produced in consultation with a wide range of NGOs and over 1,000 children, highlight significant gap

New reforms to the law on consent, knowledge and belief in rape trials will require that an accused's defence that he believed the complainant was consenting has to be objectively reasonable. The Criminal Justice (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2022 will amend the fault or mental elemen

A law banning physical punishment of children comes into effect in Wales today, just over a year after a similar ban was introduced in Scotland. Parents, or those responsible for a child, may face criminal charges if they physically discipline a young person in any way. They could face a prison sent

New legislation is required to protect the rights of children in cases of donor-assisted human reproduction (DAHR) and surrogacy, a new report has recommended. The government has published a review by Professor Conor O'Mahony, special rapporteur on child protection, of children's rights and best int

It should be mandatory for children detained by gardaí to receive legal advice from specialist solicitors, a landmark study commissioned by the Policing Authority has suggested. A first-of-its-kind study into children's experiences of their rights during police questioning in Ireland has been

Children's Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon has been reappointed for a further six-year term. The statutory ombudsman promotes the rights and welfare of children; examines and investigates complaints about services provided to children and young people; and provides advice regarding children's rights and

Courts considering medical treatment for a child must balance and protect their constitutional rights as a child, with due regard to the rights of their parents, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has reaffirmed. The human rights watchdog has published its legal submissions to the Suprem

Family law issues have remained the dominant theme of calls to the Children's Rights Alliance helpline in its second year, revealing a "serious gap" in the family law system. The organisation established the helpline and free legal advice clinics in 2018 to ensure that all children have access to fr

It would be "a tragedy" if proposals to scrap the Department of Children and Young People (DCYA) go ahead, former Supreme Court judge Catherine McGuinness has said. The accomplished Belfast-born barrister and judge, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2006, told RTÉ's Morning Ireland that s

Proposals to scrap the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) have been met with opposition from 60 children and youth organisations. An internal Fianna Fáil paper seen by the Business Post reportedly proposes the abolition of the DCYA to make way for a new Department of Higher Educa