Attila Lápossy and Bernadette Somody in their paper highlights that it is taken as a given that children are holders of fundamental rights without conditions or discrimination. However, constitutional legal theory and practice often struggle to clearly define what this means in practice. Key questions arise, such as whether a child's evolving maturity can justify limiting their independent exercise of fundamental rights, and to what extent. Also, since children's rights are often exercised with parental involvement, the role of parents in these legal relationships must be clarified. If children's fundamental rights are real and enforceable, legal frameworks must be built on solid theoretical foundations. This study argues that recognizing children as true bearers of fundamental rights requires addressing critical doctrinal issues. It explores four core questions to propose a more coherent and predictable foundation for acknowledging, exercising, and constitutionally limiting children's rights.
Ágnes Lux addresses one of the most fascinating issues in international human rights: the relationship between children's rights and the interests of future generations. Its contemporary relevance is underscored by the fact that the human rights aspects of climate change have also emerged in scientific discourse. A central question in scientific, moral, and political debates is whether the costs of today's decisions and actions will be borne by future generations - and what this implies for legal enforcement, responsibility, justice, and equity. Can the present and the future truly be sharply separated? The paper assumes that the framework of children's rights as established in international law may be suitable for more effectively enforcing the interests of both today's and future children, thereby overcoming the difficulties arising from the ambiguity of the term "future generations."
Mária Herczog writes about the importance and significance of primary child welfare services in a broad sense (including health, education and social and other services) cannot be overestimated in ensuring the welfare and well-being of children and the implementation of their rights. The provision of various services is a state obligation in Hungary, guaranteed in principle by legislation, reinforced by professional protocols to facilitate their application. In practice, however, they are not available, or only to a very limited extent, to a significant proportion of children, without any consequences or accountability. The European Union supports Member States, including Hungary, with several programmes to ensure that children's rights are more fully implemented, with a particular focus and targeted attention on children in the most vulnerable and at-risk groups.
In the Forum section, we publish articles that, in part related to the "clemency case", examine the challenges of exercising the power of clemency. They also explore the difficulties faced by basic and specialized child protection services - touching on issues such as how child abuse is assessed and handled in court practice - as well as how the interpretation of pedophilia have changed and the recent amendments in adoption-related legislation in recent years have impacted single-parent couples (incl. LGBTQI+ persons) and the situation of hundreds of infants "left behind" in hospital wards.
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In their commentary, Lídia Balogh and Borbála Juhász deal with the final decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of M. A. and Others v France on the compatibility of the French law prohibiting the purchase of sexual acts with the European Convention.
In her analysis, Fanni Murányi summarizes and briefly reflects on the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights delivered in the case of Vassallo v Hungary concerning the failure of the Hungarian authorities to conduct a swift examination in proceedings under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The Early Childhood Voices: Children, Families, Professionals (2024) book examines the expression of children's opinions and the possibilities of hearing their voices from birth to the age of eight. Its interdisciplinary approach emphasises the role of everyday situations, adult support, and the importance of developing emotional expression, and social, and cognitive skills in enforcing children's participation rights. The book offers valuable ideas for developing good practices to support the research and enforcement of participation rights.
In her contribution to this issue, Ilona Boros, head of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union's child rights program explores strategic litigation aimed at tackling structural discrimination and other systemic violations in the child protection service. She focuses on the systemic abuse against families and children living in (extreme) poverty. ■
Visszaugrás
