Latest publications

Consultancy: Concept Note for the commemoration of the Day of the African Child (DAC) 2016

The Community Law Centre’s Children’s Rights Project is calling for a consultant to produce a concept note for the commemoration of the Day of the African Child (DAC) 2016 on the theme, “Conflict and Crisis in Africa: Protecting all children’s rights”.

Article 40, Volume 16, Number 1

Welcome to another insightful edition of Article 40, the first edition in 2014.

Advert A consultancy to draft the Concept Note for the Day of the African Child 2015 The ACERWC and the Day of the African Child

The Community Law Centre is calling for consultants to produce a concept note for the commemoration of the Day of the African Child (DAC) 2015 on the theme, “25 Years after the Adoption of the African Children’s Charter: Accelerating our Collective Efforts to End Child Marriage in Africa”.

Article 40, Volume 40, Number 3 - December 2012

This last issue of 2012 includes articles on the second year of implementation of the Child Justice Act and developments in neurological science and criminal capacity.

Children's Act, No 38 of 2005

This Act is the new law governing children in South Africa.

Ending Corporal And Other Forms Of Humiliating Punishment Of Children - French

Below is a submission to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child made by a wide range of NGOs from across the African continent on the particular issue of protecting children from all forms of corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment. The submission is available in English AND French.

Ending Corporal And Other Forms Of Humiliating Punishment Of Children - English

Below is a submission to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child made by a wide range of NGOs from across the African continent on the particular issue of protecting children from all forms of corporal and other forms of humiliating punishment. The submission is available in English AND French.

Sentencing of Children to Child and Youth Care Centres: Workshop Report

The Child Justice Alliance hosted a one-day workshop to sensitize former reform school principals and provincial coordinators on the provisions of sentencing contained within the Child Justice Act. The purpose was to enlighten the CYCC principals on the provisions and to bring them together to provide recommendations on what is needed and how to address there challenges. These recommendations will be presented to the Inter-Sectoral Committee on Child Justice to action.

The criminal capacity of children in South Africa: International developments & considerations for a review

Prof Ann Skelton and Dr Charmain Badenhorst conducted research on the criminal capacity of children in the South African child justice system. This research is informed by international developments at a United Nations level, together with developments in other countries both on the African continent and elsewhere. The purpose of this research is to add to the debate on the review of the criminal capacity provisions in the Child Justice Act of South Africa, which should take place no later than 2015.

Getting to Know the Child Justice Act

This publication is intended to provide the reader with a simple overview of the contents of the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 (the Act). It attempts to reduce the ‘legalise’ of the Act; remove constant cross-references to other sections; and bring themes together in a logical and user-friendly manner.

The New Children's Act - Protecting our Children

The brochure contains information on the following: What does the New Children's Act do? How does the Children's Act protect our children? How are children protected against HIV, STD'S and unplanned pregnancies? Who must report abuse? What are our parental responsibilities and rights? Who has parental responsibilities and rights? What about child-headed households? What about our cultural and religious practices?

A baseline study of children in the criminal justice system in 3 district

This report represents two separate baseline studies undertaken between 2005 and 2007. The first baseline study was undertaken from June 2005 until the end of September 2005. The second one was conducted from September 2006 until mid-February 2007 (with a break between mid-December and mid-January).

Resources for the Rights of the Child - Responsibility of States

The Committee on the Rights of the Child had decided to devote its Day of General Discussion to the subject "Resources for the Rights of the Child - Responsibility of States", Investments for the Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Children and International Cooperation (CRC article 4). The meeting will take place at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, 21 September 2007. The purpose of the Days of General Discussion is to foster a deeper understanding of the contents and implications of the Convention as they relate to specific articles or topics.

Child Justice Alliance: A quantitative overview of children in the criminal justice system: 2007

A report of this nature is as much about what is available as about what is not available. There remain significant information deficiencies in the criminal justice system as it relates to children. The lack of quantitative data for critical components of the criminal justice system presents enormous problems in respect of planning and equally important, monitoring.

Child Justice Alliance Court Monitoring Project - Phase Two

It was decided in May 2006 by the Child Justice Alliance Driver Group to conduct a second baseline study at Wynberg (Cape Town), Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg courts. Anticipating the problems and challenges experienced in the first baseline study, some aspects of phase two were amended. In order to ensure a fair degree of comparability between the two data sets, much of the methodology employed was the same as that of phase one. The scope of the research was aimed at monitoring the current practice of the criminal justice system in relation to children, in order to obtain baseline information regarding the management of child offenders in the criminal justice system.

Free Education is a Right for Me: A report on free and compulsory primary education

This report is written by Prof. Julia Sloth-Nielsen & Mr Benyam D. Mezmur for Save the Children Sweden.

Child Justice in South Africa: Children’s rights under construction (Conference Report)

The Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) and the Child Justice Alliance, which the Children’s Rights Project co-ordinate, convened a conference entitled “Child Justice in South Africa: Children’s rights under construction”. The purpose of the conference was to take stock of the situation relating to the criminal justice system for children in conflict with the law.

Children Used by Adults to Commit Crime: Situation Analysis and Pilot Design

This study records the results of a situation analysis and baseline study to explore the use of children by adults and older children in the commission of crimes, which has been identified as a worst form of child labour. It builds on South Africa’s commitment to address child labour, as evidenced in the constitutional protection accorded to this group of children, as well as early ratification by the South African government of ILO Convention 182 concerning the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. The implementation of ILO Convention 182 is marked by the need for the design and implementation of targeted measures to address the situation of children involved in the worst forms of child labour. This study constitutes the first step in the process of achieving that goal.

Children Used by Adults to Commit Crime: Guidelines for Role-players in the Criminal Justice System

This publication consists of background documents that are needed for the role-players. These documents are: the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; International Labour Organisation: Convention 182; United Nations General Assembly; The South African Constitution; and The Children’s Bill. Guidelines in the Criminal Justice system are specified for the following role-players: the Police; Probation Officers; Prosecutors; Magistrates; Diversion service providers and Child care workers; Legal Representatives for the child and Educators.

Children Used by Adults to Commit Crime: Diversion Programme Manual

This manual contains an intervention designed for a specific group of child offenders that is meant to supplement existing diversion programmes. The research undertaken with children has shown that adults often use a reward system to elicit the participation of children in crime. This intervention has been designed to provide alternatives and behavioral means for children to avoid them succumbing to such influences and committing offences. This diversion intervention represents a valuable effort to expand the programmatic responses to offending that are available in South African, in order for specific groups of children in trouble with the law.

Second Provincial Seminars in the Western Cape and Gauteng, November 2006

The seminars were held in order for provincial stakeholders to explore ways in which they could integrate the CUBAC project within existing policy and practice and to indicate what it is they would require to sustain the project.

Children Used by Adults to Commit Crime: Children's Perceptions of their Use by Adults in the Commission of Offences

This publication contains the study aimed at consulting with children on the nature, extent and consequences of Child Used by Adults in the Commission of Crime (CUBAC). It presents the central findings of the study, followed by the discussion of the key issues emerging from them, and the identification of risk factors suggested by them.

Monitoring the financial resource flow for the implementation of the Child Justice Bill as costed

During its development the Child Justice Bill underwent a cost-effectiveness analysis (see Barberton et al 1999 and Barberton 2001). The analysis compared the cost of the current system to the management of children through the different stages of the proposed Bill. In costing the Bill, Barberton (1999) provided three scenarios which described different levels of implementation of the Bill. Overall, the analysis showed that government as a whole would benefit from substantial savings when the Bill is fully implemented, although the Department of Justice and the South African Police Service (SAPS) would spend additional funds to what they are currently spending. The summary to follow is sourced from Department of Justice and Constitutional Development et al (2002).

Child Justice Alliance Court Monitoring Project - Phase One

This research report constitutes an attempt at obtaining baseline data on the present criminal justice system as it pertains to children in three magisterial districts, namely, Wynberg in the Western Cape, Pretoria in Gauteng and Pietermaritzburg in Kwa Zulu-Natal. It is intended to form the basis of on-going monitoring research that will examine the implementation of the Child Justice Act, once enacted, in that it represents the first phase of a larger monitoring study.

First Provincial Seminars in the Western Cape and Gauteng, August 2006

The seminars were held in order for provincial and local stakeholders to reflect on what had happened since the beginning of the implementation of the pilot projects in Mamelodi, Sunnyside, Hatfield and Mitchell’s Plain.

Child Justice in Africa: a guide to good practice

This publication documents "best practice" examples pertaining to a number of child justice issues drawn from a wide variety of African countries, namely Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda including South Africa. It is a manual which is suitable for use by policy makers, non-governmental organizations and persons concerned with the implementation of child justice reforms and it highlights innovative local practices that can be replicated between African countries.

Juveniles and life imprisonment

Patricia Goliath examines the imposition of life imprisonment on juveniles in South Africa, the USA, England and Wales. This article first appeared in the May 2003 issue of De Rebus, the SA Attorneys' Journal, and is reproduced with permission.

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

The first book dealing with the important topic of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which is a further means of securing Children's Rights in the international context and supplements the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the African regional context. This book contains ground-breaking interpretations of the Charter's provisions in the context of the Convention and the African perspective. It delivers insights into how the rights and responsibilities in the Charter can be harnessed to improve the situation and circumstances of children in Africa. More important, it points out the inadequacies of the Charter to ensure a comprehensive analysis of the provisions contained therein.

Report on Children's Rights: "They should listen to our side of the story"

This publication is based on a report compiled by the Community Law Centre at UWC, on workshops held to give effect to Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. These workshops were facilitated in order to ensure child participation in the law reform process occasioned by the South African Law Commission's Review of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983. It is also informed by an evaluation report on this process compiled by Clacherty and Associates in 2001.

The Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Children, Youth, and Disabled Persons

See article on the committee published in ChildrenFIRST, December 2000.

Children in Prison in South Africa: A situational analysis

"Every child has the right... not to be detained except as a measure of last resort, in which case, in addition to the rights a child enjoys under sections 12 and 35, the child may be,detained only for the shortest appropriate period of time, and has a right to be ... treated in a manner, and kept in conditions, that take account of the child's age." (SA CONSTITUTION, SECTION 28)