Constitutional protection of children’s rights in Central and Eastern European states

ENThe distinction between democratic and authoritarian constitutions can hardly be drawn by referring to anything other than human rights (especially rights of the most vulnerable groups) and their real protection in the state and society. Among these vulnerable groups, children stand out, being unable to select the social and physical environments into which they are born and raised, with their voices and interests frequently overlooked or not accorded the seriousness they deserve. This vulnerability places them at risk of enduring profound injustices due to their dependent status. However, merely including a children’s rights provision in a constitution is not enough; it does not guarantee a means of redress if those rights are not upheld. The most obvious way in which constitutional rights can be enforced is through their protection in constitutional courts. Despite the critical importance of safeguarding the rights of this vulnerable group, there is little discussion about the way constitutional courts contributed to the legal situation of children in general and about the enhancement of their protection in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in particular. Thus, this chapter aims to shed more light on the constitutional protection of children in these countries. To achieve this, focusing on the CEE region, the following tasks will be addressed: (1) to provide a comparative analysis of the constitutional framework for the protection of children’s rights; (2) to discuss the role of constitutional courts in the protection of human rights; (3) to identify the constitutional justice cases which most contributed to enhancing the protection of children, as well as to distinguish common trends in the constitutional jurisprudence in the area discussed.