Hungary ranked 40 in the world on access to justice for children

[15.02.2016, London] Hungary has been ranked 40 in the world on how effectively children can use the courts to defend their rights according to new research from Child Rights International Network (CRIN).

The new report, ‘Rights, Remedies and Representation’, takes into account whether children can bring lawsuits when their rights are violated, the legal resources available to them, the practical considerations for taking legal action and whether international law on children’s rights is applied in national courts.

Hungary has incorporated the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) into its national law, but despite the fact it can be directly enforced, the courts have not made great use of the Convention. Children under 14 have no legal capacity and must always act through a legal representative. Children between 14 and 18 years old have limited legal capacity and may perform certain legal act themselves as provided by law. They may initiate proceedings to defend their inherent rights, however, as a general rule, a legal representative is required for all other types of proceedings. Violations of children’s rights can be challenged before the administrative, civil or criminal courts and complaints may also be made to the Ombudsperson.

Achieving access to justice for children is a work in progress and the report represents a snapshot of the ways children’s rights are protected across the world. The report condenses findings from 197 country reports, researched with the support of hundreds of lawyers and NGOs and is intended to help countries improve access to justice for children nationally.

Director of CRIN, Veronica Yates, said: “While the report highlights many examples of systems poorly suited to protecting children’s rights there are also plenty of people using the courts to effectively advance children’s rights.

“Our ranking represents how well States allow children access to justice rather than how well their rights are enshrined. However, it is hard to ignore how many countries with deplorable human rights records are on the lower end of the ranking for children’s access to justice.”

In the foreword of the report the chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Benyam Dawit Mezmur said: “The Committee welcomes this research and already envisages its concrete contribution to its various engagements with State Parties.

“Child rights standards in international instruments do not mean much for the lived reality of children if they are not implemented. In particular, if the fundamental rights of children are violated, it is critical that children or those acting on their behalf have the recourse, both in law and in practice, to obtain a remedy to cease, prohibit and/or compensate for the violation.

“I hope this study is only the beginning of a new shift in making access to justice for children a priority that will enable other rights to be fulfilled.”

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Source: Child Rights International Network – Press Release