Browse Hierarchy LAW6468: Children and the Law

A third of humanit--those under the age of 1--are generally defined under the law as children. The world's most widely ratified treaty is the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Other, wide-ranging legal instruments also focus on children, at the international level (such as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, and the Child Marriage Convention), the regional level (such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, and the European Convention on the Exercise of Children¿s Rights), and the national level (such as the UK's various Children and Young Persons acts, as well as its various Children Acts). All of these are connected to broader legal instruments as well (such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in War). Moreover, the law regarding children also affects all adults in one way or another. For these and other reasons, this area of law is of enormous legal and social importance. This module explores issues and instruments concerning children across a variety of legal areas, ranging from constitutional, criminal, medical, and labour law to education, family, human rights, and international humanitarian law, among others. Our discussions draw not only on legal sources but also on sociological, anthropological, historical, and philosophical studies of childhood, as well as postcolonial, feminist, queer, and other critical schools of thought.