System of protection of children's rights in the Russian Federation. Protection of children's rights in the Russian Federation
The system for protecting children's rights in the Russian Federation includes state authorities, local governments, officials, citizens and their associations, which must comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the laws of our state.
The protection of the rights of the child is based on the norms of international legislation that is binding on the Russian Federation (within the framework of adopted agreements), the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Federal Law No. 124-FZ of July 24, 1998 “On basic guarantees of the rights of the child in the Russian Federation,” relevant federal laws and other regulatory acts of the Russian Federation,
as well as laws and other regulations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the child.
Legal protection of a child should be understood as a set of legal acts that ensure the child’s right to birth and safe social development, as well as the activities of entities implementing these rules of law.
Legal protection of childhood covers the entire sphere of a child’s life and includes: protection of motherhood, paternity and family; education; healthcare; work; social Security; leisure; crime prevention, etc.
The basis for the protection of the rights of minors in the Russian Federation is the justice system of the Russian Federation, which, in the legal status of juvenile justice, could ensure the rights and legitimate interests of the child more effectively.
According to the draft Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of the Juvenile Justice System” dated February 14, 2005, the juvenile justice system is understood as the totality government agencies, local government bodies, state and municipal institutions, officials, non-governmental non-profit organizations, carrying out actions on the basis of procedures established by law aimed at realizing and ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a child (minor).
The main element of juvenile justice should be the juvenile court. The draft Federal Constitutional Law “On Juvenile Courts in the Russian Federation” has also been developed, but has not yet been adopted.
Currently, in Russia, a juvenile court means criminal proceedings against minors; it can also be understood as a court of general jurisdiction that considers criminal, civil and administrative cases to ensure the rights, freedoms and responsibility of minors.
The lack of an appropriate legislative framework in the Russian Federation does not allow juvenile justice and the juvenile court to be considered as full-fledged subjects while they are the subject of experimental activities and discussions in scientific circles, legislative bodies and the media.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation is a unified federal centralized system of bodies that, on behalf of the Russian Federation, supervise compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the implementation of laws in force on the territory of the Russian Federation (Federal Law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation”). The purpose of the activities of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation is to ensure:
Rule of Law;
Unity and strengthening the rule of law;
Protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, as well as legally protected interests of society and the state.
All legislation relating to the protection of children's rights is entirely within the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with Art. 10 of the Law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation”, any citizen can apply to the prosecutor's office with a statement of violation of the law (including legislation protecting the rights of the child).
In paragraph 4 of Art. 27 “Powers of the Prosecutor” stipulates that in the event of a violation of human and civil rights and freedoms protected in civil proceedings, when the victim, for health reasons, age or other reasons, cannot personally defend his rights and freedoms in court or arbitration court, or when the rights and freedoms of a significant number of citizens or due to other circumstances the violation has acquired a special public importance, the prosecutor brings and supports in court a claim in the interests of the victims.
In this case, the age of the victims is recognized as the basis for the participation of the prosecutor in civil proceedings.
A significant role in protecting the rights of minors is played by advocacy, regulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of May 31, 2002 No. bZ-FZ “On advocacy and the legal profession in the Russian Federation.” Advocacy is qualified legal assistance provided by lawyers to individuals and legal entities in order to protect their rights, freedoms and interests, as well as ensure access to justice.
According to Part 3 of Art. 26 of the Law “On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation”, legal assistance is provided in all cases free of charge to minors held in institutions for the prevention of neglect and juvenile delinquency.
In addition, a number of procedural guarantees for the protection of the rights of minors related to the practice of law are contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. Ch.2 part 1 tbsp. 51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation provides for the mandatory participation of a defense lawyer in criminal proceedings if the suspect or accused is a minor, and according to Part 2 of Art. 425 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, when interrogating a minor suspect or accused, the participation of a defense attorney is mandatory.
The formation of juvenile justice involves increasing the importance of qualified legal assistance in the field of protecting the rights of the child. The creation of specialized juvenile advocacy offices will make it possible to raise the activity of legal assistance in protecting children's rights to a new qualitative level, and such steps are already being taken in Russia: a juvenile advocacy office has been created in Yekaterinburg, specializing in cases involving minors; The Juvenal Law Office and the Center for Free Legal Assistance for Youth have been established in Rostov-on-Don.
The need to organize high-quality protection of children's rights requires the creation in Russia of a system of juvenile justice, juvenile courts, juvenile prosecutor's offices and juvenile lawyers' offices as mandatory components of justice, allowing for a comprehensive solution to this problem.
The institution of the Commissioner for Children's Rights can play an important role in ensuring the protection of children.
For the first time in the world, a commissioner for children's rights appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. in Sweden, and later such a position was introduced in Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, Romania and other countries.
In Russia, in 1998, children's rights ombudsmen appeared in the Volgograd and Kaluga regions, as well as in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novgorod. Currently, there are ombudsmen for children’s rights in Moscow, Leningrad region, Samara region and are being introduced in a number of regions of the Russian Federation on the basis of regional legislation. The main function of the Commissioner for Children's Rights is to serve as a guarantor of respect for the rights of the child.
At the federal level, they are just planning to introduce the position of Commissioner for Children’s Rights under the President of Russia and possible candidates are being discussed.
The relevance of creating an institution of ombudsman for children's rights is associated with serious problems in the field of child protection in our country, where there are 1 million disabled children, 5 million drug-addicted children, 2 million illiterate children, every fifth child is in unacceptably poor social conditions, 730 thousand children officially registered as homeless.
Children are the highest value of every state. Today, no one doubts that the criterion for the capacity and insight of the authorities is its attitude towards children, respect and protection of their rights, freedoms and legitimate interests. At an early age, children are especially vulnerable and particularly susceptible to various influences, and therefore the child should be given priority when it comes to our concerns and resources. The constantly progressing increase in juvenile crime, the number of children who have lost parental care and are in conflict with the law, require the search and application of urgent and far from ordinary measures.
Overcoming the deepest crisis of Russian society lies in its fundamental socio-economic and spiritual-moral recovery, in the formation and implementation of effective social policies that can significantly improve the living conditions of the country's citizens and become the most important guarantee of meeting the vital needs of a young person and protecting his rights and interests. At the same time, social protection of minor citizens cannot be reduced to solving problems of a purely material nature. The country is faced with the task of developing and implementing the conceptual foundations of a new legal framework for truly ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of children. Particularly significant here is the constant search and testing of ways to solve the most pressing problems that are unconventional for today's Russia, but have proven their effectiveness in world practice. The Russian Federation, as the legal successor of the USSR, at the legislative level in recent years makes significant efforts to implement international standards to protect the rights and freedoms of the child and to ensure the best interests of the child.
The formation of a legal, democratic state presupposes the social protection of children, providing them with such social assistance that would ensure the social well-being of each child. Any declarations about the rights and freedoms of the child, even those spelled out in the Constitution and numerous other legislative acts, are flawed if they are not provided with real guarantees from the power structures of the state and society.
Every citizen of the Russian Federation is guaranteed judicial protection of his rights and freedoms (Article 46 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). This constitutional provision applies to all citizens, regardless of their age, and has been enshrined in current legislation. According to Articles 1, 8, 56 of the RF IC, Article 11 of the RF Civil Code, judicial protection of civil and family rights and interests of the child is the main jurisdictional form of protection.
The basis of this study was the Federal Laws: Family Code of the Russian Federation of 1995, “On the Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation” (1998), “On the Fundamentals of the System for the Prevention of Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency” (1999), “On the State Bank data on children left without parental care" (2001) "On additional guarantees for the social protection of orphans and children left without parental care" (1996), the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 and many other legal norms acts.
The government determined the “Main directions of state policy to improve the situation of children in the Russian Federation until the year 2000” and adopted the Federal Target Program “Children of Russia” for 2003 - 2006. (approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 3, 2002 N 732). But the realities of life indicate that such measures are clearly not enough. In this regard, the duty of federal and regional executive authorities is to constantly increase the capacity of the law enforcement system itself, increase executive discipline, and improve the professionalism of specialists working in the field of ensuring the rights of young citizens of the country.
Legal status of minor children in Russia
The socio-economic crisis in Russia has led to a decline in living standards and massive violations of children's rights. Over the past ten years, the number of children has decreased by almost 4 million. Infant and child mortality in Russia in 2005 was 2-3 times higher than in developed countries. During the reforms, many mechanisms for protecting children's rights were destroyed. Some children today are outside the sphere of state care: they do not receive what they are guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as numerous laws and national plans.
The results of a special study of the reality and feasibility of children’s rights in our country in recent years have shown that:
firstly, the principle of the priority of childhood, declared at all levels of government, is not fully implemented at any of them;
secondly, the interests of children are not taken into account when developing many laws;
thirdly, problems of improving the situation of children are solved fragmentarily, from case to case, without a systematic basis, i.e., a futile policy of “patching holes” is mainly pursued;
fourthly, legislative acts regulating financial, tax, economic, legal decisions do not take into account the consequences of their adoption in the sphere of childhood, and from here, in essence, it follows that none of the numerous laws adopted over the past five years contains a forecast direct and indirect results of their actions in the field of childhood.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Russian Federation is a party, obliges states to improve the legal mechanism to prevent violations of the rights of minors. National youth policy, including protection and care for various groups of youth, is a true indicator of the fairness of the social order and the legitimacy of power.
Specialization in the field of legal protection of civil rights depending on the category of persons whose rights are subject to protection is a global trend. Specialized human rights bodies have greater capabilities than bodies of general competence to restore violated rights, analyze the situation that led to their violation, and develop preventive recommendations.
In relation to the protection of the rights of minors, world practice has developed special mechanisms. These are juvenile justice bodies - judges, juvenile courts, special ombudsmen for juvenile affairs. In the Netherlands, for example, in 10 municipalities, advisory centers operate in order to protect the violated rights of children. Each of them has at least one doctor, one social worker and a church coordinator. A striking example of such a service is the State Arbitrator for Children, who has been effectively operating in Norway for many years.
In Russia, commissions, inspectorates for minors, social protection bodies, charitable institutions and organizations - traditional and newly formed mechanisms for protecting the rights of the child - unfortunately, do not always act properly.
Ticket 9. Regulatory and legal framework for protecting the rights of children without parental care.
Basic concepts:
1. Children without parental care - persons under the age of 18 who were left without the care of a single or both parents due to the absence of parents or deprivation of them parental rights, restriction of their parental rights, recognition of parents as missing, incompetent, in medical institutions, declaring them dead, serving their sentences in institutions executing sentences of imprisonment, being in places of detention of suspects and accused of committing crimes; evasion of parents from raising children or from protecting their rights and interests, refusal of parents to take their children from educational and medical institutions.
2. Orphans under 18 years of age whose both or only parent have died.
3. A social orphan is a child who has biological parents, but for some reason they do not raise the child or take care of him.
Regulatory framework:
1. Federal Law of December 21, 1996 N 159-FZ “On additional guarantees for social support for orphans and children without parental care”
Article 6. Additional guarantees of the right to education
Article 7. Additional guarantees of the right to medical care
Article 8. Additional guarantees of rights to property and residential premises
Article 9. Additional guarantees of the right to work
Article 10. Judicial protection of the rights of orphans and children left without parental care
Protection of the rights of orphans and children left without parental care is entrusted to the guardianship and trusteeship bodies, which are local government bodies. Their activities are regulated by a number of international, federal and regional regulations aimed at providing state care for this category of children.
The main tasks of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities for the purposes of this Federal Law are:
1) protection of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens who need to establish guardianship or trusteeship over them, and citizens under guardianship or trusteeship;
2) supervision over the activities of guardians and trustees, as well as organizations in which incapacitated or not fully capable citizens are placed;
3) control over the safety of property and management of the property of citizens under guardianship or trusteeship or placed under supervision in educational organizations, medical organizations, organizations providing social services, or other organizations, including for orphans and children left without care parents.
3. Family Code of the Russian Federation. Section VI is entirely devoted to the upbringing of children without parental care.
4.Federal Law No. 44-FZ of April 16, 2001 “On the state data bank on children left without care
The law was created in order to assist in the placement of children left without parental care into families of citizens of the Russian Federation and to create conditions for the exercise of the right of citizens who wish to accept these children to be raised in their families
5. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 14, 2001 N 374 “On priority measures to improve the situation of orphans and children left without parental care”
6. Law of St. Petersburg “On additional measures of social support for orphans and children left without parental care” dated November 28, 2005 No. 616-87.
The system for protecting the rights of the child in the Russian Federation includes state authorities, local governments, officials, citizens and their associations who are obliged to comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the laws of our state.
The protection of the rights of the child is based on the norms of international legislation that is binding on the Russian Federation (within the framework of adopted agreements), the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Federal Law No. 124-FZ of July 24, 1998 “On basic guarantees of the rights of the child in the Russian Federation,” relevant federal laws and other regulatory acts of the Russian Federation, as well as laws and other regulatory acts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the child.
The legal protection of a child should be understood as a set of legal acts that ensure the child’s right to birth and his successful social development, as well as the activities of entities implementing these legal norms.
Legal protection of childhood covers the entire sphere of a child’s life and includes: protection of motherhood, paternity and family; education; healthcare; work; social Security; leisure; crime prevention, etc.
The basis for the protection of the rights of minors in the Russian Federation is the justice system of the Russian Federation, which, in the legal status of juvenile justice, could ensure the rights and legitimate interests of the child more effectively.
According to the draft Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of the Juvenile Justice System” dated February 14, 2005, the juvenile justice system is understood as a set of state bodies, local government bodies, state and municipal institutions, officials, non-governmental non-profit organizations that carry out actions based on the procedures established by law, aimed at realizing and ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the child (minor).
The main element of juvenile justice should be the juvenile court. The draft Federal Constitutional Law “On Juvenile Courts in the Russian Federation” has also been developed, but has not yet been adopted.
Currently, a juvenile court is understood as a court of general jurisdiction that considers criminal, civil and administrative cases to ensure the rights, freedoms and responsibility of minors.
Absence in the Russian Federation legislative framework does not allow juvenile justice and the juvenile court to be considered as full-fledged subjects while they are the subject of experimental activities, discussions in scientific circles, legislative bodies and in the media.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation is a unified federal centralized system of bodies that, on behalf of the Russian Federation, supervise compliance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the implementation of laws in force on the territory of the Russian Federation (Federal Law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation”). The objectives of the activities of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation are to ensure:
- the rule of law;
- unity and strengthening of the rule of law;
- protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, as well as legally protected interests of society and the state.
All legislation relating to the protection of children's rights is entirely within the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with Art. 10 of the Law “On the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation”, any citizen can apply to the prosecutor's office with a statement of violation of the law (including that protecting the rights of the child).
Clause 4 of Art. 27 “Powers of the Prosecutor” stipulates that in the event of a violation of human and civil rights and freedoms protected in civil proceedings, when the victim, for health reasons, age or other reasons, cannot personally defend his rights and freedoms in court or arbitration court, or when the rights and freedoms of a significant number of citizens, or due to other circumstances the violation has acquired special public significance, the prosecutor files and supports a claim in court in the interests of the victims. In this case, the age of the victims is recognized as the basis for the participation of the prosecutor in civil proceedings.
A significant role in protecting the rights of minors is played by advocacy, regulated by the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of May 31, 2002 No. 63-FZ “On advocacy and the legal profession in the Russian Federation.” Advocacy is qualified legal assistance provided by lawyers to individuals and legal entities in order to protect their rights, freedoms and interests, as well as ensure access to justice.
According to Part 3 of Art. 26 of the Law “On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation”, legal assistance is provided in all cases free of charge to minors held in institutions for the prevention of neglect and juvenile delinquency.
In addition, a number of procedural guarantees for the protection of the rights of minors related to the practice of law are contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. In clause 2, part 1, art. 51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation provides for the mandatory participation of a defense lawyer in criminal proceedings if the suspect or accused is a minor, and according to Part 2 of Art. 425 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, when interrogating a minor suspect or accused, the participation of a defense attorney is mandatory.
The formation of juvenile justice involves increasing the importance of qualified legal assistance in protecting the rights of the child. The creation of specialized juvenile advocacy offices will make it possible to raise the activity of legal assistance in protecting children's rights to a new qualitative level, and such steps are already being taken in Russia: a juvenile advocacy office has been created in Yekaterinburg, specializing in cases involving minors; in Rostov-on-Don, the Juvenal Law Office and the Center for Free Legal Assistance for Youth were created.
The need to organize high-quality protection of children's rights requires the creation in Russia of a system of juvenile justice, juvenile courts, juvenile prosecutor's offices and juvenile defense offices as mandatory components that make it possible to comprehensively solve this problem.
The institution of Commissioners for Children's Rights can play an important role in ensuring the protection of children.
For the first time in the world, the Ombudsman for Children's Rights appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. in Sweden, later such positions were introduced in Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland, Romania and other countries.
In Russia, in 1998, for the first time, Commissioners for Children's Rights appeared in the Volgograd region, Kaluga region, as well as in the cities of St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novgorod. Now such positions exist in Moscow, the Leningrad region, the Samara region and are being introduced in a number of regions of the Russian Federation on the basis of regional legislation. The main function of the Commissioner for Children's Rights is to serve as a guarantor of the observance of children's rights.
At the federal level, there are just plans to introduce the position of Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of Russia, and possible candidates are being discussed. Obviously, the federal law regulating the activities of the Commissioner for Children's Rights will be adopted in the near future.
The relevance of creating the institution of Ombudsmen for Children's Rights is associated with serious problems in the field of child protection in our country, where there are 1 million disabled children, 5 million drug-addicted children, 2 million illiterate children, every 5th child is in unacceptably poor social conditions , 730 thousand children are officially registered as street children.
Rights of minor children
A child is every human being under the age of 19, unless the law applicable to the child reaches the age of majority earlier. (Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)
Children and youth (tomorrow's adults) are the most valuable capital of every society. Continuous communication and mutual understanding between all generations is of utmost importance for any society. This is an indispensable condition for the stability of our world, optimism and responsibility of the current generation towards future generations.
And yet, every day we witness violations of the rights of children and youth. Today, to our deep regret, some children are stared in the face by hunger, disease, and social exclusion - the terrible accompaniments of poverty that give rise to despair and conflict. The responsibility for a radical solution to the problem of social exclusion of children lies with the state.
As a child grows, he enters into a variety of relationships with people around him - adults and children - who, in turn, belong to various social groups. In the course of his development - in order to form as a personality - the child must become an integral part of the social world in which he is immersed, in which he acts and which enriches him.
The space that a child encounters from the moment of his birth, in most cases, is the family. The first relationships a child enters into are with his parents - mother and father, as well as with brothers and sisters. For a child, this is the base, the center, the foundation of all other social connections that he has to establish and create.
From the moment of birth, the child is taken under state protection and has the following rights:
Live and be raised in a family
Communicate with parents and other relatives
Protect your rights
Express your opinion
The right to a first name, patronymic and last name
Change of surname and first name
Right to property
Right to medical care
Right to education and others.
These rights are established and guaranteed:
Constitution of the Russian Federation;
Family Code of the Russian Federation;
Federal Law No. 124-FZ of July 24, 1998 “On the Basic Guarantees of the Rights of the Child in the Russian Federation”;
- Convention on the Rights of the Child of November 20, 1989, other normative legal acts and documents. IN modern society these rights are often violated, both by parents and the state.
Children's right to healthcare
According to Article 41 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to health care and medical care. Medical care in government and municipal institutions healthcare is provided to citizens free of charge at the expense of the corresponding budget, insurance premiums, and other revenues.
Children are citizens of Russia, therefore they have the right to free medical care. List of types of free medical care for children:
emergency medical care for: - conditions that threaten the life or health of children caused by sudden illnesses, exacerbations of chronic diseases, accidents, injuries and poisonings;
outpatient care, including activities for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases both in the clinic and at home:
primary health care, including pre-medical care;
consultations, diagnostics and treatment from specialists, dental care;
consultations, diagnosis and treatment by specialists for children under 18 years of age in family planning and human reproduction centers and offices;
vaccinations (according to national calendar vaccinations and for epidemiological indications);
preventive examinations of children under 18 years of age;
targeted medical examinations;
dispensary observation of healthy children involved in physical education and sports;
inpatient care for:
acute diseases, exacerbations of chronic diseases, injuries, burns and poisonings requiring hospitalization, intensive care and round-the-clock monitoring;
infectious diseases requiring hospitalization and isolation for epidemiological reasons;
planned hospitalization and rehabilitation for diseases requiring round-the-clock observation and treatment in a hospital setting (including in children's and specialized sanatoriums);
placement in day hospitals during preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures for patients who do not require hospitalization and round-the-clock medical supervision in a hospital and intensive care;
The listed types of medical care are provided by specialists from specialized departments (beds) for groups of diseases and conditions:
HIV-infected and AIDS patients, if there are other pathologists, receive medical care in any specialized department;
Rehabilitation and restorative treatment of children and adolescents under 18 years of age is carried out in any specialized department on restorative treatment beds.
Children's right to education
According to Article 43 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to education. Guaranteed universal access and free pre-school, basic general and secondary education vocational education in state or municipal educational institutions and enterprises. Basics general education Necessarily. Parents or their substitutes ensure that their children receive basic general education.
It is clear that not every child is guaranteed the right to education. And yet, one of the development goals of our millennium is “to ensure that by 2015, all children everywhere, boys and girls, can complete a full course primary school” and had “equal access to education at all levels.”
Poor, street and working children should not be discriminated against in their access to education.
Education is the only way to help these children escape the vicious circle of poverty, struggle to survive on the streets, slave labor and ignorance.
One of the problems that causes the greatest concern to parents is the problem of children's education. When deciding what kind of education is best to give your child, you must first take into account his IQ. Of course, other factors are also important: the quality of teaching at school, the parents' interest in the child's good academic performance, the child's willingness to work hard, his diligence and ability to work.
Student rights:
Rights and responsibilities of students and pupils educational institution are determined by the charter of this educational institution and other local acts provided for by this charter.
Adult citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to choose an educational institution and form of education.
Students of all educational institutions have the right to receive education in accordance with state educational standards, to study within these standards according to individual curricula, to an accelerated course of study, to free use of library and information resources of libraries, to receive additional (including paid) ones. educational services, to participate in the management of an educational institution, to respect one’s human dignity, to freedom of conscience, information, and to freely express one’s own opinions and beliefs.
Graduates of educational institutions, regardless of their organizational and legal forms that have state accreditation, have equal rights when entering an educational institution at the next level.
Citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to receive for the first time free primary general, basic general, secondary (complete) general, primary vocational education and, on a competitive basis, secondary vocational, higher vocational and postgraduate vocational education in state or municipal educational institutions.
Involving students, pupils of civil educational institutions without the consent of students, pupils and their parents (legal representatives) in work not provided for by the educational program is prohibited.
Forcing students and pupils to join public, socio-political organizations (associations), movements and parties, as well as their forced involvement in the activities of these organizations and participation in campaigning campaigns and political actions is not permitted.
Students and pupils of civil educational institutions have the right to freely attend events not provided for in the curriculum.
Students and pupils have the right to transfer to another educational institution that implements educational program the appropriate level, with the consent of this educational institution and their successful completion of certification.
Protection of the rights of minor children
Art. 56 Family Code The Russian Federation says that a child has the right to protection of his rights and the right to protection from abuse by his parents.
Protection of rights and legitimate interests is carried out by parents, and in cases provided for by the Family Code (in particular, when the guardianship and trusteeship authority has established that there are contradictions between the interests of parents and children, parents are deprived of parental rights, citizens whose legal capacity is limited due to alcohol abuse) by the body Guardianship and trusteeship, prosecutor, court.
In case of violation of the rights and legitimate interests of a child, in case of abuse of parental rights, cruel treatment, the child has the right to apply for their protection to the Guardianship and Trusteeship Authority of the district administration, and upon reaching 14 years of age to the court.
Officials of the organization and other citizens who become aware of a threat to the life or health of a child, a violation of his rights and legitimate interests, facts of cruel treatment, are obliged to inform the guardianship and trusteeship authorities at the place of the child’s actual location. Upon receipt of such information, the Guardianship and Trusteeship authority is obliged to take the necessary measures to protect the rights and legitimate interests of the child.
The functions of protecting the rights of minors (in particular, when facts of child abuse are revealed) are assigned to the Guardianship and Trusteeship Authorities under the District Administrations, the Prosecutor's Office (assistant prosecutor for the protection of the rights of minors), the inspectorate for minors at the district police department, and the commission for minors.
Art. 156 of the Criminal Code provides for criminal liability for failure to fulfill the duties of raising a minor, if this act is associated with cruel treatment of the minor. Cruel treatment can be expressed in the failure to provide a minor with food, locking him in a room alone for a long time, systematic humiliation of his dignity, bullying, and beatings.
Failure to fulfill or improper fulfillment of the duties of raising a minor by a parent or other person entrusted with these duties, as well as by a teacher or other employee of an educational, training, medical or other institution obliged to supervise the minor, if this act is associated with cruel treatment of the minor, is punishable by a fine of 50 to 100 times the minimum wage, or restriction of freedom for up to 2 years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 3 years.
Cruel treatment of children (including physical and mental violence against them), an attempt on their sexual integrity is grounds (according to Article 69 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation) for depriving parents of parental rights.
How are children's rights protected?
Protection of children's rights in an administrative manner is carried out law enforcement agencies and guardianship and trusteeship authorities (Article 8 of the UK).
The first include:
Prosecutor's office,
Internal affairs bodies.
The prosecutor, protecting the rights of children, uses the following methods:
filing a claim for deprivation of parental rights (Article 70 of the Family Code), restriction of parental rights (Article 73 of the Family Code), and cancellation of the adoption of a child (Article 142 of the Family Code);
submission to the court, guardianship and trusteeship authority of an application demanding restoration (recognition) of the violated (challenged) right of the child (Article 21 of the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation”);
directly participating in court consideration of cases on the protection of children’s rights (Article 35 of the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation”; Articles 72, 73, 125, 140 of the RF IC);
introducing a warning about the inadmissibility of violating the rights of the child in the future and a proposal to eliminate violations of the law (Article 24, Article 25 of the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation”);
protesting acts of other administrative bodies that are directly related to the protection of children’s rights (if there are grounds provided for by law (Article 23 of the Law “On the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation”).
Internal affairs bodies are involved in the enforcement of decisions related to the removal of a child (Article 79 of the Criminal Code), as well as in the search for persons evading the execution of court decisions in disputes related to the upbringing of children (Clause 14, Article 10 of the Law “On the Police” , Art. 3, 6 of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On public security police (local police) in the Russian Federation”). Also, internal affairs bodies carry out individual preventive work with families in which the rights of the child are violated; with parents who do not fulfill or improperly fulfill their responsibilities for raising, educating or maintaining minor children; participate in identifying facts of violation of children’s rights in the family; where necessary, prepare cases for deprivation and limitation of parental rights.
The protection of the rights of the child in the family is also within the competence of the Commission on Minors' Affairs and the Protection of Their Rights. According to Art. 11 of the Law “On the Basics of the System for the Prevention of Neglect and Juvenile Delinquency”, the responsibilities of these commissions include:
filing a claim in court for deprivation and restriction of parental rights;
implementation of measures to protect and restore the rights and legitimate interests of the child, identify and eliminate the causes and conditions that contribute to their neglect and homelessness;
organization, if necessary, of control over the conditions of education, training, and maintenance of minor children;
preparation of materials submitted to the court on issues related to the protection of the rights of the child in the family.
In accordance with Art. 121 of the RF IC, guardianship and trusteeship authorities identify children left without parental care, keep records of such children and, based on the specific circumstances of the loss of parental care, choose the forms of their placement, and also carry out subsequent monitoring of the conditions of their detention, upbringing and education. In addition, the guardianship and trusteeship authorities: file a claim for deprivation of parental rights, restriction of parental rights, act as a defendant in cases of restoration of parental rights, abolition of restrictions on parental rights, give opinions on cases related to the establishment of adoption, cancellation of adoption, give conclusions on disputes related to raising a child in a family, in accordance with Art. 79 Investigative Committees participate in the execution of court decisions in cases related to the upbringing of children.
Currently, in most guardianship and trusteeship authorities, all work on protecting the rights of minors is usually carried out by one child protection specialist (inspector). This leads to the fact that it is possible to carry out only the most urgent work, usually related to representing the interests of a minor in court, preparing opinions (often unprofessional, due to the lack of the necessary skills and knowledge), at the request of the court, etc. Thus, the guardianship and trusteeship authorities do not have the opportunity to protect the rights of children properly, and therefore it is proposed to reform these authorities. The main elements of the reformed guardianship and trusteeship body will be:
expanding the circle of children whose rights and legitimate interests are protected by guardianship and trusteeship authorities;
introduction of a system of social patronage for children (families) in need of state protection (A foster carer is “attached” to a family in which a child is recognized as in need of state protection, providing the necessary assistance in raising the child and rehabilitating the family.);
drawing up a Child Protection Plan - an act of the guardianship and trusteeship authority, which establishes a list of measures to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of a child in need of state protection, the timing of their implementation, and establishes a clear division of responsibility in implementing the plan between the parties involved in the process of upbringing and maintenance child;
distribution of powers for guardianship and trusteeship between several services authorized by the head of the local government body (obviously, the above scope of powers cannot be exercised by one child protection specialist);
creation (repurposing) of an institution providing foster care (an institution for the maintenance, upbringing and preparation of a child in need of state protection for placement in a family, as well as for the search, selection and training of foster carers, assistance in raising and carrying out rehabilitation work with children and etc.);
delimitation of rights and responsibilities to protect the rights and legitimate interests of the child, i.e. distribution of responsibilities for the legal representation of the interests of the child between the authorized service (institution), blood parents (legal representatives of the child) and the foster carer;
control by the authorized service over the state of development of a child in need of state protection.
The possibility of rapid implementation and successful application of the model described above is doubtful, since it is largely copied from Western models, and the effectiveness of its work in Russian conditions has not been specifically studied. However, the situation when, according to the federal norm, there should be only one specialist to protect their rights for every 5 thousand minors is unacceptable and must be corrected.
Thus, protecting the rights of the child in judicial procedure concerns cases of violation of his rights in the family if a dispute arises about the upbringing of a child. And the protection of the rights of a child, especially one who has lost parental care, is within the scope of activity of the guardianship and trusteeship authority. Therefore, the priority and most common way to protect the rights of the child is not judicial, but administrative and legal protection carried out by the guardianship and trusteeship authorities. It is these bodies that are authorized by the state to perform protective functions, which are carried out differently, depending on the specific situation.
An important prerequisite for the protection of the rights of minors by these bodies is close contact and interaction with the prosecutor’s office, internal affairs bodies, commissions for minors and other state and public organizations. Unfortunately, the bulk of the laws adopted to date are aimed at prescribing the roles of departments and defining the boundaries of their activities. This led to increased interdepartmental barriers and increased the struggle of departments for budget funds, while the mechanism of interaction between departments and their responsibility for failure to fulfill their functions to protect the rights of the child is not prescribed by law.
The above list of government bodies that protect the rights of children can hardly be considered exhaustive, since other bodies, the number of which is constantly growing, can take part in the protection of children’s rights locally (Center for Social Assistance to Family and Children, Center for Psychological and Pedagogical Assistance to the Population, Emergency Center psychological assistance by telephone, Social Rehabilitation Center for Minors, Center for Assistance to Children Without Parental Care).
One of the previously unknown ways to protect the rights of a child is the ability, enshrined in Article 56 of the RF IC, to independently protect one’s rights in the event of their violation by parents or persons replacing them. In these cases, the child can apply to the guardianship and trusteeship authority, and upon reaching 14 years of age - to the court. However, there are no real prerequisites for the exercise of this right yet, since the current civil procedural legislation does not determine the position of a minor participant in civil proceedings who has lost parental care.
As for complaints to the guardianship and trusteeship authority, the prosecutor's office or any other bodies involved in the protection of children's rights, despite the apparent simplicity of this procedure, the child most often cannot use it, partly because they do not know their rights, and do not have access to independent sources of legal assistance. Moreover, given that the perpetrator of violence is often a director or employee orphanage or another official, children do not believe in the possibility of achieving justice.
The child’s right to self-defense means the existence of an obligation for the bodies competent to protect the rights of the child to take appropriate measures in response to his complaint. The lack of legislative regulation of this issue in practice can lead to the reluctance of officials to record complaints from children and take any action to restore their rights.
In addition to protecting the rights of the child at the national level, it is possible to protect it with the help of international protection mechanisms based on international regulations (Convention on the Rights of the Child - November 20, 1989), which, in accordance with Part 4 of Art. 15 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is part of the legal system of the Russian Federation, and has prejudicial significance.
Currently, Russia is obliged to periodically submit state reports on the situation with children's rights in the Russian Federation to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, the mechanism for implementing its provisions is the Committee, is universal - the only countries that have not ratified it are the United States and Somalia. The Convention not only identifies the child as a person entitled to specific rights, but also makes it possible for the child to assert his rights through national judicial or administrative procedures (Article 12 of the Convention). Many experts believe that one of the most significant contributions made by the Convention to human rights legislation is precisely the introduction of the principle of transforming the child from a passive object of “protection” into an active subject.
Based on the results of consideration of the Report submitted by the state, alternative reports of non-governmental organizations and the state’s responses to additional questions raised, the Committee makes recommendations on improving the situation with children’s rights in Russia and the special protection of certain categories of children.
Another international legal method of judicial protection of the rights of the child is his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. If this court determines that the applicant's rights have been violated, he may be paid monetary compensation, and the recommendations of the Court are binding on the respondent State. Usually the interests of children are represented before the European Court by their parents, but if for some reason this is not possible, the child can use the help of a lawyer or a public organization, in accordance with national legislation.
At the same time, the precedents of the European Court specifically indicate that minors can independently or through representatives initiate the filing of a complaint.
A large number of cases on the protection of children's rights in the European Court concern the appointment of child custody, contacts with parents and other relatives, as well as the right to respect for personal and family life, the inadmissibility of the use of physical punishment and the right to education.
Cases of this kind have also already been filed against Russia.
Material for studying and developing your proposals
Protection of children's rights: legislation and law enforcement practice
A.M. Nechaeva, leading researcher at the Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Law, Professor.
Protection of children's rights in modern Russia is one of the current problems, generated by the obvious disadvantage in the situation of minor children both in society and in the family. And it is difficult to say what is the reason for such trouble and who is to blame for this in the first place - the state or the family. Undoubtedly, both are to blame. Moreover, it is obvious that the declared interest of the state in children is closely intertwined with the indisputable fact that the family has lost its authority, the weakening of family foundations, when the traditional protective functions of the family come to naught or turn into their opposite, degenerating into a serious threat to the immature personality of the child. In other words, there is every reason to believe that children are in danger. This circumstance obliges us to move from slogans addressed to everyone, both individuals and legal entities, to legal regulations that are clearer in meaning and content, capable of actually helping the child if necessary.
A special place in the system of measures to support children is occupied by legal norms that establish the possibility of using all existing reality measures and ways to ensure the normal spiritual and physical development of the child. Moreover, the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child contains the following provision: “States Parties respect and ensure all the rights provided for by this Convention for every child” (Clause 1, Article 2). Concerns about the translation of children's rights into reality expressed at the international level are understandable, because the world community is concerned about the state of future generations and their ability to adequately support human life.
This is, in the most general form, an explanation of the importance of legal problems of ensuring the interests of minor citizens. Moreover, we are talking about a wide range of legal means of protecting the child, especially since their prerequisite is legislative acts that are unequal in their sectoral affiliation, each of which in one way or another, directly or indirectly, serves or can serve as a legal instrument that protects the rights of children.
However, the topic of protecting the rights of the child itself is associated primarily with family law, the Family Code of the Russian Federation, despite the fact that its Art. 2, which defines the range of relations regulated by family law, does not specifically highlight the protection of the rights of the child. It is, as it were, dissolved in the regulation of personal (non-property) and property relations of family members, which, naturally, includes minor children. The same can be said about the form and procedure for placing children without parental care into families.
The complexity of protecting the rights of the child lies not only in the use of legal norms that differ in their sectoral affiliation, but also in the complex nature of family law itself. It is based on the so-called norms of substantive law, administrative and legal rules, and regulations of a purely civil procedural nature. On the other hand, the rights of the child are protected by norms that are usually classified as private law or public law. Most often, they interact, complementing each other, when it comes to specific ways to protect the rights of the child, in which the state, represented by the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, is directly interested.
This is especially noticeable when it comes to protecting the rights of a minor who for some reason finds himself in an unfavorable family situation or is left without a family at all. At the same time, it is easy to notice that all family law norms devoted to minor children are permeated with one idea - the idea of priority protection of the interests of the child. As for the rights themselves, the leading place among them is occupied by the child’s right to live and be raised in a family (Clause 2 of Article 54 of the RF IC). This right serves as a common denominator in resolving problems related to family education.
This is not a simple reflection of the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, but the result of a radical revision of previously existing ideological attitudes, when the role of the family was not taken into account and was devalued in every possible way, which affected many generations of people. Now that the family has become the object of protection
The Constitution of the Russian Federation states that there are no differences between adults and children. Every person must respect the rights of the child, since he, too, is an individual and requires respect.
Legal protection of children is provided in any state, and Russia is no exception. In the current, rather difficult time, one of the first places should be caring for the younger generation.
It is worth noting that minor children stand in the same row along with pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled. After all, they are quite often exposed to the negative influence of the people around them. Therefore, their rights and legitimate interests must be protected without fail.
According to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, each of them has the right to citizenship, love, understanding from others, social protection, as well as material security. In addition, when a child has finished school, he has every right to receive the education he wants, and parents should not interfere with this.
Every child also has the right to participate, and actively participate in the life of society, to self-development and protection. Also, minor children have every right to decide their present and future, to think about who they will be in the future and who they will study for.
Legal protection of children consists, first of all, of protecting the teenager from many situations. For example, children at this age do not have sufficient life experience, she is defenseless and helpless, has excessive impulsiveness and increased emotionality. In addition, they often want to imitate others, and often these role models are not entirely positive.
Children, especially teenagers, want to attract attention and stand out from the crowd, but at the same time they are afraid of appearing weak and dependent. Compared to adults, children have a completely different sense of personal friendship and group solidarity.
The legal basis for protecting the rights of the child is specified in the Preamble to the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is stated here that the child necessarily needs special protection and care, which includes legal protection, since the child is both a physically and mentally immature person.
Of course, raising a child begins in the family. But in lately We see more and more cases where children are born in unregistered marriages or are raised by single mothers. Thus, in many families the level of anxiety and fear for the future of children increases significantly.
After all, those children who are brought up in single-parent families do not have a role model - a man, and as a result they grow up to be selfish. Experts say that in many families children do not develop harmoniously; some experience neuropsychic disorders associated with worries and stress.
As a result, feelings of loneliness and emotional alienation may appear. The normative and legal framework for the protection of children includes a constitutional provision on the state protection of children and mothers. It states that spouses in the family must have equal rights and must resolve all issues by mutual agreement. And the main thing is that parents should consider the child as a separate, independent subject of law.
In addition, the basics of legal protection of children from domestic violence are defined. This paragraph says that children should never be treated roughly or neglectfully, insulted, or exploited for one’s own purposes.
Of course, a child needs to be taught to help adults, but only to the best of his ability, a teenager should not perform overwhelming duties. Otherwise, the parents must be deprived of their rights, and the child is sent to orphanage, where he will be under the supervision of specialists, and nothing will threaten his health and life.
The Family Code has a separate article that is devoted to various legal issues related to the upbringing of children who are left without parental care. Such children are adopted by prosperous parents, they are also taken under guardianship and guardianship, and are also placed in foster families.
Parents are also deprived of parental rights when they suffer from alcoholism, commit a deliberate crime against the life and health of children, and also when adults do not raise the child and do not fulfill the main responsibilities that relate to the full development of children.
It is worth noting that the court always considers the child’s position first and acts in the children’s interests. There are often situations when there is no mutual understanding and agreement between spouses, then the court decides which parent the minor child will live with after the divorce. And in this case, the opinion of a child who is 10 years old is taken into account.
Socio-economic conditions, which change from time to time in a country, also inherently influence the nature of interpersonal relationships. But no matter how difficult the situation, the child must feel safe so that the increased level of anxiety in the country does not affect the child’s development.
It often happens that children are treated aggressively and cruelly in families where parents, especially mothers, have mental disorders. Therefore, they often take it out on children and cannot control themselves. The mother must undergo a medical examination and be hospitalized in order to exclude a threat to the child’s health.
Some parents, whose financial condition leaves much to be desired, force their minor children to commit various petty crimes - theft, robbery and other criminal acts. If a child says in court that his parents forced him, then they will definitely be punished.
Of course, there are also cases where teenagers and older children commit petty crimes. In this case, they must answer for their actions in court. Here the law, alas, is not on their side, since they violated it.
If, for any reason, relatives and others abuse their rights in relation to the child, he has every right, if he is 14 years old, to file applications in court. But if this happens at an earlier age, he can contact the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, which are located in every city and or regional center.
The main thing that every child should remember is that the law in most cases is on his side, so you should not infringe on yourself and live, without telling anyone, under the rude attitude of your parents. He must be fed, spiritually and morally developed, and well-groomed.
You should not be afraid of threats from parents, as they must fulfill their responsibilities correctly, otherwise they will be deprived of their parental rights.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the legal protection of children in Russia includes the protection of the interests of the child, his rights and freedoms, since he needs this protection due to his inexperience.
PROTECTION OF CHILD'S RIGHTS IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
In March 2009, at a meeting on preventing violence against children, Russian President D.A. Medvedev said: “Russia needs a modern system of child protection. Today there is simply no system.”
On November 22, 2011, the issue of protecting children's rights became one of the main topics at the meeting of the prime ministers of Russia and France.
In the course of the socio-economic reforms carried out in modern Russia social status children turned out to be disadvantaged, and the children themselves were unprotected.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, in 2009, about 106 thousand crimes against minors were registered, more than 108 thousand children and adolescents were also recognized as victims, more than half of them, which is about 68 thousand, suffered from violent attacks. Moreover, 4 thousand crimes of this type were committed by parents against their children.
The situation in the sphere of childhood, associated with the constant deterioration of the financial situation, alcoholism, drug addiction, child neglect and homelessness, and the growth of attacks on the rights of children, is currently considered at the state level as a threat to the national security of Russia.
“The future and everything depends on the well-being of our children. Russian society, and our state as a whole,” emphasized the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs R.G. Nurgaliev. Therefore, the protection of children’s rights in modern Russia is one of the most pressing problems.
Children and youth (tomorrow's adults) are the most valuable capital of every society. Continuous communication and mutual understanding between all generations is of utmost importance for any society. This is an indispensable condition for the stability of our world, optimism and responsibility of the current generation towards future generations.
The purpose of the work is to study the problem of child protection in Russian society.
The work includes consideration of the content of children's rights both in international acts and in acts of the Russian Federation, as well as legal support for the protection of children's rights, including the example of the Kaluga region.
Children's rights and their protection
A child is every human being before reaching the age of summer if, under the law applicable to the child, he reaches majority earlier.
At the international and national level, there are many special acts on the rights of the child. The main instrument on the rights of the child at the international level is the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention was adopted in New York on November 20, 1989. It includes 54 articles that detail the individual rights of children. All rights included in the Convention apply to all children.
The Convention, for the first time, considers the child as an individual with rights that states that ratify the Convention are obliged to “respect and guarantee.” This provision indicates that the child is a particularly vulnerable member of society and therefore requires and deserves special protection.
The Convention considers the child as an independent person. The Convention characterizes the child as a person endowed with specific rights: the right to life (Article 6), to have a family (Article 9), to a name and citizenship (Article 7), to education (Article 28), to protection from violence ( Art. 19), for equality, for freedom of thought and speech (Art. 13), for rest and leisure (Art. 31), for medical care and health care (Art. 24), for state assistance (Art. 18- 27) etc.
According to this document, all children have the right to develop their capabilities, freedom from hunger and want, as well as cruelty and other forms of abuse.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child links the capabilities of children with all the rights and responsibilities of parents or persons responsible for them. Based on this, children can participate in making decisions that can affect their present and future.
The Convention makes it possible for a child to protect his rights through national judicial or administrative procedures (Article 12).
The Convention affirms the priority of the interests of children and considers the principle of respecting the rights and interests of all children without any exceptions or any discrimination (Article 2). At the same time, according to Art. Art. 5, 12 of the Convention, the implementation of a number of rights of the child depends on his age, maturity and degree of development; and according to Art. Art. 20, 23, special needs are recognized by the Convention for disabled people and children permanently or temporarily deprived of a family.
Since the ratification of the Convention by Russia, legislators have made significant efforts to bring Russian legislation into compliance with the Convention.
The rights of the child in Russia are regulated by such legislative documents as:
Constitution of the Russian Federation; Family Code of the Russian Federation;
Legislation of the Russian Federation on protecting the health of citizens;
Law on basic guarantees of children's rights in the Russian Federation;
Federal Law “On Education”;
Law on additional guarantees for the protection of orphans and children left without parents;
Law on social protection of disabled people in the Russian Federation.
Federal law on guardianship and trusteeship
In development of the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation on the protection of motherhood, childhood and family by the state (Article 38), civil, criminal, administrative and other branches of legislation contain rules on the protection of the rights of the child.
An analysis of the family legislation in force in Russia today allows us to conclude that it has been brought into line with Russia’s international obligations. Implementing one of the main principles and priorities of Russian family legislation - legislative support for the rights of the child, the Family Code of the Russian Federation of 1995 devotes an entire chapter to the rights of minor children (Chapter 11 of the RF IC).
Almost all the rules on the protection of the family rights of the child enshrined in it, one way or another, reflect the requirements of the Convention.
Chapter 11 (Articles 54-60) of the Family Code secures the following basic rights for children:
The right to live and be raised in a family;
The right to communicate with parents and relatives;
Right to defense;
The right to express one's opinion;
The right to a first name, patronymic and last name;
Property rights, including owner rights.
The responsibilities of children in the family are not defined by law. They are established only by moral norms; the law cannot force a child to perform any duties in the family.
The most complete development of children's rights in the Russian Federation is presented in the law on basic guarantees of the rights of the child. The law formulates the goals of state policy in the interests of children (Article 4), the main directions of ensuring children's rights in the Russian Federation (Articles 6-15).
In general, Russian legislation enshrines all the rights guaranteed to the child by the Convention.
The only exception is the child’s right to family reunification, as provided for in the Convention. This right is not provided for in the Family Code of the Russian Federation. And this despite the fact that in recent years this issue has become increasingly relevant.
Protection of the subjective rights and interests of citizens is possible not only through the application of legal norms by authorized bodies and organizations, but is also permissible in the form of direct self-defense by an individual of his rights. In accordance with the current Constitution, every person has the right to protect their rights and freedoms by all means not prohibited by law (Article 45).
In accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 56 of the RF IC, a child also has the right to protect his rights and legitimate interests. Of course, he, as a special subject of law, is basically unable to independently protect his rights by resorting to specific forms of protection. But still, in accordance with Art. 56 of the RF IC, a child is given the independent opportunity to apply to the guardianship and trusteeship authority, and upon reaching the age of 14 years - to the court in case of violation of his rights and interests by parents and other legal representatives, as well as in case of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment by parents (one of them ) responsibilities for upbringing, education, or abuse of parental rights.
In order to compensate for the lack of legal capacity of children, the law introduces the institution of their legal representatives, who are obliged to protect the rights and interests of the child. The institution of representation regulates relations in which one person (representative), within the limits of his powers, performs legally significant actions on behalf and in the interests of another person (represented). At the same time, the degree and boundaries of the participation of the legal representative depend on such circumstances as the age of the child, the type and basis of the relationship between the child and the legal representatives, and the legal status of the child.
So, paragraph 1 of Art. 64 of the RF IC entrusts the protection of the rights and interests of children to their parents: “Parents are the legal representatives of their children and act in defense of their rights and interests in relations with any physical and legal entities, including in courts, without special powers."
Legal protection on the part of parents is subject to a wider range of children’s rights than those contained in the RF IC. Thus, these include the child’s housing rights, inheritance rights, the right to protect his life and health, the right to social security, the right to protection of honor and dignity, as well as other rights. An exception to the rule provided for in paragraph 1 of Art. 64 of the RF IC, there are cases when there are contradictions between the interests of parents and children. In such situations, parents do not have the right to represent the interests of the child by virtue of the norm of paragraph 2 of Art. 64 RF IC. To protect the rights and interests of the child, a representative is appointed by the guardianship and trusteeship authorities.
In appropriate cases, the legal representatives of the child are his adoptive parents, guardians, and trustees. When there are no parents (persons replacing them) or they do not fulfill their mission, the responsibilities for protecting the rights of children are assigned to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, the prosecutor and the court (Clause 1 of Article 56 of the RF IC).
The guarantee of proper protection of the rights of the child is established in paragraph 3 of Art. 56 of the RF IC, the obligation of all officials or citizens who become aware of a violation of the rights of a child, a threat to his life or health, is to report this to the guardianship and trusteeship authority at the place of the child’s actual location.
However, given the fact that this obligation is not legally supported by the possibility of applying any sanctions against these persons, it should be considered only as consolidating proper behavior in the interests of protecting the rights and interests of children and society.
The protection of children's rights in Russia is carried out by both the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Commissioner for Children's Rights, whose position was introduced by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 1, 2009.
The task of the ombudsmen is to ensure the protection of the rights of the child and to facilitate the restoration of the violated rights of the child.
December 3, 2011 President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev said that he signed a law amending a number of legislative acts that are aimed at protecting childhood in our country, in particular, the law on basic guarantees of the rights of the child, which introduces a number of new norms that provide additional powers to the Commissioner under the President of the Russian Federation for children's rights and regional children's ombudsmen.
Now you have access to information that was classified as confidential. For example, information about rights to real estate and transactions made with it. The law gives human rights activists the right to freely visit closed special institutions, colonies and pre-trial detention centers where minors are kept, as well as places of deprivation of liberty where pregnant women and women with children are kept in children's homes in correctional colonies. Bodies and institutions of the system for the prevention of neglect and delinquency of minors are obliged to provide information, documents and other materials to the Commissioner for Children's Rights upon their request. The law provides for administrative liability for obstructing human rights defenders in their work.
In addition, a second law was signed, which amends Art. 22 laws on basic guarantees of the rights of the child concerning the procedure for submitting a state report on the situation of children and families who have children in the Russian Federation.
Thus, the regulatory framework for the activities of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights, as well as the general system for protecting the rights and interests of children, is being improved.
We must not forget that the welfare of children, the observance and protection of their rights, depends not only on the actions of the state as such, but also on the “non-state sector”: the media, private enterprises, human rights organizations.
Moreover, without the support of ordinary people - each individual - the Convention will not achieve its goals. From the moment of ratification of the Convention, the governments of the participating countries, including Russia, may be subject to internal pressure from both private individuals and non-governmental organizations, which have the right to justify their actions by the obligations assumed by the state under the Convention.
Such actions may include monitoring the state's compliance with the rights guaranteed by the Convention, bringing to the attention of the general public information about identified violations, and demanding the allocation of funds from the state budget to support programs to ensure the rights and interests of children.
At the same time, despite active work Russian non-governmental organizations and the requirements of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, without the interest in protecting the rights of the child in Russia of hundreds and thousands of citizens acting in any capacity - scientists, government officials, teachers, educators, etc., it will be impossible to achieve specific social and political changes.
Protection of children's rights in the Kaluga region
As part of an inspection tour of the Kaluga region, the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation, Pavel Astakhov, inspected the Obninsk rehabilitation center for children and adolescents with disabilities“Trust”, Kondrovo orphanage-school, Polotnyano-Zavodsky boarding school for mentally retarded children, shelter for children and teenagers “Dream”, specialized children's home, special (correctional) general education boarding school named after. F. Rau.
The purpose of the trip of Pavel Astakhov and his “children’s special forces” is to check complaints, orphanages, shelters, hospitals, special schools, orphanages.
There are currently 164,540 children living in the Kaluga region. Of these, 2,796 are disabled children. Mostly children are taken into care - a total of 1,644 children were accepted in the region, in foster families There are 1,080 children, 1,403 children have been adopted (including 332 by foreign adoptive parents). The institution of foster families in the Kaluga region is not popular.
The region is implementing the target program “The Child’s Right to a Family 2010-2014.” Every year hundreds of orphans are identified in the Kaluga region. Their number in 2010 decreased by one and a half times (compared to 2007), but at the same time the number of children left without parental care who were placed in new families also decreased. In 2010, 103 children were placed in families from orphanages.
The most difficult thing is to place children over 10 years old in families, and this is over two-thirds (77%) of all orphans in the region. This process is also complicated by the presence of siblings among the children.
In this regard, Pavel Astakhov addressed the Internet community through his microblog on Twitter: “As of January 1, 2011, the Regional Data Bank of Orphans and Children Without Parental Care included 752 people. These children are looking forward to their new families!”
In 2009, there were 77 abandoned children in the Kaluga region, and in 2010 - only 46. According to Pavel Astakhov, in recent years among abandoned children, children born by migrants and settlers from the south, from Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as gypsies and mulattoes predominate . Whereas in the questionnaires for selecting a child, candidates for adoptive parents usually indicate the desirability of the child’s “Slavic origin/appearance.”
The Commissioner also drew attention to a major problem in the Kaluga region - child crime. In 2010, internal affairs bodies identified and registered 1,503 teenage offenders and 326 parents. This is more than in 2009, when 1,389 teenagers and 289 adults were registered.
Of particular concern was the extremely high increase in crimes against the sexual integrity of minors. Thus, in the Kaluga region, the number of crimes in the form of indecent acts increased sharply from 47 in 2009 to 253 in 2010.
An opportunity to influence child crime will be the signing of the agreement “On the procedure for interaction on issues of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the child in the Kaluga Region” by the head of the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Kaluga Region V.V. Efremenkov and the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Kaluga Region O.A. Kopyshenkova.
The purpose of the agreement is to unite the efforts of departments in protecting children. The parties will undertake obligations to exchange information and provide mutual assistance in the protection of children. In addition, it is expected that it will be possible to develop proposals to improve legislation in the field of protecting the rights and interests of the child.
Under the slogan “We will help, advise, support” on June 1, 2011, on International Children’s Day, charity events took place in the Kaluga region under the auspices of the regional Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
The regional children's ombudsman is guided in his work by three principles: “in any situation, the main thing is to take into account the interests of the child”, “all children have the same rights”, “the rights and responsibilities of parents in relation to the child are equal”.
The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Kaluga Region, Yuri Zelnikov, also joined the nationwide information campaign to combat child abuse in the Kaluga Region.
As part of the company's action plan, leaflets on the rights and safety of children were published. The institution of ombudsmen for the rights of participants in the educational process in general education institutions was further developed and they were provided with methodological assistance on the issues of preventing cruelty and violence against children and responding to identified facts. Thus, in 2011, a workshop was held for representatives of the rights of students in schools in the city of Kaluga
