THIRD AND FOURTH PERIODIC REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD 2014 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION (Articles 4, 42 and 44 (6)) ........ 7 1.1 Bringing Estonian legislation in conformity with Articles of the Convention (Article 4). New laws and amendments to laws ........................................................................................ 7 1.1.1 Code of Civil Procedure ....................................................................................... 7 1.1.1 Code of Criminal Procedure ................................................................................. 7 1.1.2 Penal Code ............................................................................................................ 8 1.1.3 Legislative amendment package addressing restrictions on working with children 8 1.1.4 Citizenship Act ..................................................................................................... 9 1.1.5 Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens ............................................. 9 1.1.6 Aliens Act ........................................................................................................... 10 1.1.7 Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act ............................................. 11 1.1.8 Study Allowances and Study Loans Act ............................................................ 12 1.1.9 Vocational Educational Institutions Act ............................................................ 12 1.1.10 Hobby Schools Act ............................................................................................. 12 1.1.11 Parental Benefit Act ........................................................................................... 12 1.1.12 Maintenance Allowance Act .............................................................................. 12 1.1.13 Victim Support Act ............................................................................................ 12 1.1.14 Equal Treatment Act .......................................................................................... 13 1.1.15 Social Welfare Act ............................................................................................. 13 1.1.16 Youth Work Act ................................................................................................. 13 1.1.17 Renewal of Child Protection Act ....................................................................... 13 1.2 Implementation of the Convention in case-law ......................................................... 14 1.2.1 Supreme Court .................................................................................................... 14 1.2.2 Courts of lower instance ..................................................................................... 15 1.3 International agreements ............................................................................................ 16 1.4 Coordination of national actions ................................................................................ 17 1.4.1 Development plan for children and families for 2012–2020 ............................. 18 1.4.2 Network related to the various children’s rights initiatives ............................... 19 1.4.3 Joint programme for children and youth at risk ................................................. 19 1.5 Institution exercising supervision over the rights of the child ................................... 20 1.6 Collection of data....................................................................................................... 21 1.6.1 Estonian Education Information System ............................................................ 21 1.6.2 Information system STAR ................................................................................. 22 1.6.3 Criminal statistics ............................................................................................... 22 1.6.4 Police activity upon gathering statistics ............................................................. 22 1.7 Preparation of report and cooperation with civic associations .................................. 23 1.7.1 Preparation of report ........................................................................................... 23 1.7.2 Cooperation with civic associations ................................................................... 23 1.8 Allocation of state funds ............................................................................................ 24 1.8.1 Expenditure from state budget on children’s welfare during 2008–2011 .......... 24 1.8.2 Support to child protection work ........................................................................ 25 1.8.3 Preschool child care institutions and schools ..................................................... 26 1.9 International cooperation ........................................................................................... 27 1.9.1 Foreign aid programmes ..................................................................................... 29 1.10 Introducing the Convention (Article 42) ................................................................... 29 1.10.1 Training sessions for judges and prosecutors ..................................................... 30 1.11 Publishing and introducing the report (Article 44 (6)) .............................................. 31 2. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (Article 1) .................................................................. 31 2.1 Passive and active legal capacity ............................................................................... 31 2 2.1.1 Marriage and consenting in sexual relationship ................................................. 32 2.1.2 Guilt capacity ..................................................................................................... 32 2.1.3 Child as party to proceedings ............................................................................. 32 2.1.4 Succession capacity and capacity in property law ............................................. 33 2.1.5 Alcohol, tobacco and illegal substances ............................................................. 33 3. GENERAL PRINCIPLES .............................................................................................. 34 3.1 Non-discrimination (Article 2) .................................................................................. 34 3.1.1 Gender equality and equal treatment .................................................................. 35 3.1.2 Penal Code .......................................................................................................... 37 3.1.3 The Chancellor of Justice ................................................................................... 38 3.2 Right to life, survival and development (Article 6) ................................................... 39 3.2.1 Suicides .............................................................................................................. 39 3.2.2 Abortion ............................................................................................................. 40 3.3 Right to express one’s views (Article 12) and best interests of the child (Article 3) 40 3.3.1 Participation of children in decision making processes ..................................... 42 4. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS ............................................................................. 43 4.1 Registration of birth, name and nationality (Article 7) ............................................. 43 4.1.1 Registration of birth of child .............................................................................. 43 4.1.2 Name of child ..................................................................................................... 44 4.1.3 Acquisition of citizenship ................................................................................... 45 4.1.4 Informing of options for acquiring citizenship .................................................. 47 4.1.5 Alien child .......................................................................................................... 48 4.2 Preservation of identity (Article 8) ............................................................................ 51 4.2.1 Name .................................................................................................................. 51 4.2.2 Citizenship .......................................................................................................... 51 4.3 Freedom of expression and access to appropriate information (Articles 13 and 17) 52 4.4 Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 14) ........................................ 53 4.5 Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (Article 15) ..................................... 54 4.5.1 Peaceful assemblies ............................................................................................ 54 4.5.2 Freedom of association ....................................................................................... 55 4.6 Protection of privacy (Article 16) .............................................................................. 55 4.7 Right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 37(a)). .................................................................................................. 55 4.7.1 Prohibition on physical punishment of children ...............................................