Legislative Reform Related to the Convention on the Rights of The
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LEGISLATIVE REFORM RELATED TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD IN DIVERSE LEGAL SYSTEMS NATIONAL CASE STUDIES: ARMENIA, BARBADOS AND GHANA LEGISLATIVE REFORM INITIATIVE PAPER SERIES DIVISION OF POLICY AND PRACTICE MARCH 2008 DIVISION OF POLICY AND PRACTICE LEGISLATIVE REFORM RELATED TO THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD IN DIVERSE LEGAL SYSTEMS NATIONAL CASE STUDIES: ARMENIA, BARBADOS AND GHANA LEGISLATIVE REFORM INITIATIVE – PAPER SERIES Hayk Khemchyan Consultant Yerevan, Armenia UNICEF Tracy Robinson Kofi Quashigah Consultant Consultant Bridgetown, Barbados Accra, Ghana UNICEF UNICEF MARCH 2008 Legislative Reform Related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Diverse Legal Systems © United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Gender, Rights and Civic Engagement Section, Division of Policy and Practice, New York, 2008 Gender, Rights and Civic Engagement Section, Division of Policy and Practice UNICEF 3 UN Plaza, NY, NY 10017 March 2008 This is a working document. It has been prepared to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and to stimulate discussion. This paper is part of the Legislative Reform Initiative – Paper Series, (LRI - Paper series) spearheaded by the Global Policy Section of UNICEF. The aim of the Paper series is to explore and provide guidance on the role of legislation – including regulations which may have a direct or indirect bearing on children – in protecting and advancing children’s rights in a particular area. The Paper Series are intended to increase understanding of the human rights-approach to legislative reform. The opinions, findings, analysis and conclusions expressed within this background paper are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to its affiliated organisations, or to the members of its Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The text has not been edited to official publication standards and UNICEF accepts no responsibility for errors. The designations in this publication do not imply an opinion on legal status of any country or territory, or of its authorities, or the delimitation of frontiers. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This series of country case studies was prepared by experts on children’s rights from various parts of the world. We would like to express our special thanks to these expert authors: Hayk Khemchyan, Mohamed Al-Qudah, Rihab Qaddoumi, Rateb Al-Wazani, Kofi Quashigah, and Tracy Robinson. Special thanks go to the following UNICEF country offices, which enthusiastically embraced and participated in this these studies: Armenia, Ghana, Barbados, and Jordan. In particular, the initiative we would like to express our gratitude to Jean Gough, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director in Latin America and the Caribbean (TACRO), and UNICEF Representatives Hanaa Singer, Tad Palac, Bertrand Bainvel, Festo Kavishe, Philippe Duamelle, Dorothy Rozga, Joan French, Gordon Jonathan Lewis, Anne Skatvedt, Maie Ayoub von Kohl, Souleymane Diallo, and Ruth Leano, whose support of the process has been outstanding. Many UNICEF staff members and experts provided extremely useful comments and suggestions, and generously reviewed the different drafts. In particular, we would like to thank Naira Avetisyan, Beatrice Duncan, Maha Homsi, and Heather Stewart. Many thanks go to Matthew Duncan who edited the text. The initiative would not have been possible without the commitment of Elizabeth Gibbons, Associate Director, Gender, Rights and Civic Engagement Section, Division of Policy and Practice and Nadine Perrault, Programme Manager, Gender and Rights, Division of Policy and Practice. We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by DFID. Foreword UNICEF’s promotion of law reform in favour of children, with particular emphasis on the rights contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, increasingly focuses on the interconnected nature of these rights. Examining national experiences in the legislative harmonization process can further advance CRC implementation and highlight both successes and challenges in the countries in which UNICEF works. As part of its continuing efforts to fulfil its mandate under the Convention and promote a human rights-based approach to development, UNICEF began a Legislative Reform Initiative in 2003. The studies contained in this Working Paper are one result of this Initiative. They contain an analysis of CRC implementation in four countries with different legal systems—Armenia, Jordan, Ghana and Barbados. The countries identified for the project were limited by the timeframe and resources available. UNICEF offices chosen were asked to prepare desk studies on legislative reform in their countries. Because of UNICEF’s emphasis on a rights-based approach to development and legislative reform, the studies did not limit their analysis to statutes and case law. The importance of institutional reform, law enforcement, effective budget allocations, social policies, and wider partnerships among concerned actors are also considered in the studies A holistic understanding of the dynamics of legislative reform is important to effectively using reform to implement children’s rights and integrate them into development efforts. The UNICEF Initiative hopes to enhance global understanding of both the scope and limitations of using law, policy and legal reform to implement children’s rights in developing countries. These studies represent one of many stages and products of UNICEF’s Legislative Reform Initiative. They, along with other country studies, were used as a foundation for studies comparing experiences from countries with similar legal traditions to examine how the CRC is and can be implemented in different country contexts. Through this Initiative and the coordinated work of UN agencies, national governments and civil society, UNICEF hopes to witness improved achievement of children’s rights across widely divergent legal traditions. Elizabeth Gibbons Associate Director Gender, Rights and Civic Engagement Section Division of Policy and Practice Table of Contents Page Executive Summary......................................................................................................................... i Resumen Ejecutivo ........................................................................................................................iii Résumé Analytique......................................................................................................................... v Legislative Reform Related to the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Civil Law Countries: the Case of the Republic of Armenia.............................................................................................. 1 1. Executive Summary........................................................................................................ 1 2. Introduction to Armenia’s Legal System........................................................................ 2 2.1. Legal system and political organization ......................................................................... 2 2.2. Status of the CRC and other international instruments in domestic law ........................ 4 2.3. Resource allocation and budget support ......................................................................... 7 3. Law Review and Law Reform...................................................................................... 10 3.1. Law review.................................................................................................................... 10 3.2. Obstacles to legislative reform...................................................................................... 14 3.3. Controversies present in the legislation........................................................................ 15 3.4. Types of legislative reforms undertaken....................................................................... 18 3.5. Rationale for undertaking legislative reform ................................................................ 18 3.6. Institutional arrangements to support the laws ............................................................. 19 4. The Process of Legislative Reform............................................................................... 23 4.1. Strategy and role of interested parties........................................................................... 23 4.2. Implementation of the law and follow-up..................................................................... 25 4.3. Social policies supporting legislative reforms .............................................................. 25 5. Conclusion: Lessons Learned and Recommendations.................................................. 25 Legislative Reform Initiative: National Study of Barbados ......................................................... 28 1. Executive Summary...................................................................................................... 28 1.1. Presentation of the State party ...................................................................................... 28 1.2. Law review and law reform .......................................................................................... 29 1.3. Process of legislative reform......................................................................................... 30 1.4. Implementation of the law and follow-up actions ........................................................ 30 2. Presentation of the State Party.....................................................................................