14 January 2021

A Childish Idea

The Proposed Child Rights Amendment to the German Constitution

The new year started with a surprise for child rights advocates in Germany. After decades of partisan debates on the constitutional status of children, newspapers reported on January 11 that a working group of the governing coalition finally agreed on an amendment to the German Constitution (Basic Law) which would incorporate the rights of the child into Article 6 (2) which hitherto only protected marriages and families. Although this step would fulfil a central promise of the government (see p. 21 of the Koalitionsvertrag), the proposed amendment in its current version would be incompatible with international and European law for several reasons.

First, it would significantly lower the level of protection of the ‘best interests of the child’ – below what is required by Article 3 (1) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and Article 24 (2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (European Charter). Second, the amendment only includes “constitutional rights of children,” creating the contradictory presumption that some rights of the child might be unconstitutional. Overall, the amendment seems misplaced under Article 6 (2) of the Basic Law and codifies a selective, incoherent, and regressive approach to the rights of the child. The legislator should therefore revise the proposal in accordance with established international and European law before even considering amending the German Constitution.

The Sounding Dissonance between the Child Rights Amendment and International Law

Any amendment to the Basic Law must be concurrent with Germany’s international obligations under the CRC, the most universally accepted treaty in international law which Germany ratified in 1992. Problematically, the proposed amendment would enshrine a revisionist approach to the rights of the child and clearly contradicts Germany’s binding obligations under international and European law:

“The constitutional rights of children, including their right to the development of an independent personality, shall be regarded and protected. The best interests of the child shall be appropriately regarded. The constitutional guarantee for children to be heard shall be observed. The principal responsibility of parents shall remain unaffected.” (translation by the author, see original text here)

The first sentence of the proposed amendment can be understood in two possible ways. “Constitutional” could be read as merely stating that children’s rights are of constitutional rank. Despite being an example of circular legal drafting, this interpretation would do little harm. However, the second way of reading the first sentence could imply that some rights of the child might be unconstitutional – a presumption, which is not only contradictory, but which would also open universally accepted international law to the scrutiny of German courts. Even more confusing, the amendment refers directly to the right to development and the right to be heard, Articles 6 (2) and 12 of the CRC respectively, without even mentioning the dozens of other rights which are equally important. The selection of those two rights over others, for instance, children’s inherent right to life (Article 6 CRC) or their right to live free from discrimination (Article 2 CRC) seems rather arbitrary.

Moreover, placing the rights of the child under Article 6 (2) of the Basic Law obscures their origin in international law and diminishes the symbolic value of the amendment. Children’s rights originate from the consensus of the international community that children as such have special rights and deserve a higher level of protection than adults. Article 6 of the Basic Law, however, concerns the protection of marriage, families, and the natural right of parents to care for their children. Regulating the rights of the child in the same Article as those of parents and families would thus be a systematic misfit. Children possess individual rights independent of their parents and despite being members of their families. It would therefore be more appropriate to enshrine children’s rights in a more prominent position under Article 2 (1) (for a different reasoning with the same result see Michael von Landenberg-Roberg).

The second major issue concerns an apparent conflict between the text of the amendment and the so-called ‘best-interests of the child principle’ – one of the four fundamental principles and core values of the CRC (see UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 14, para. 1). According to Article 3 (1) of the CRC, “In all actions concerning children […] the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.” The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the international treaty body which is tasked with interpreting the CRC, regularly stresses the importance and broad scope of the best interests principle (see John Eekelaar and John Tobin, Art. 3: The Best Interests of the Child, pp. 74 et seqq.). The strong wording, making children’s interests “a primary consideration,” in conjunction with the committee’s broad interpretation has established a remarkably high standard of care. Therefore, states are required to justify any interference by laying out valid reasons as to why other interests superseded those of the children (see Michael Freeman, Article 3: The Best Interests of the Child, pp. 44-60). All in all, children’s interests are of considerable importance whenever the state makes a decision which might affect children as individuals or as a group.

Unfortunately, the high standard in the CRC is not at all reflected in the draft amendment which only mentions that “The best interests of the child shall be appropriately regarded.” While, according to various news outlets, this part of the amendment was particularly controversial, the ruling party CDU/CSU ultimately prevailed with the “appropriateness” standard. This is regrettable, because it lowers children’s protection under the Constitution below what is required in the CRC. “Appropriately regarding” children’s best interests or “taking it as a primary consideration” are two completely different levels of protection which cannot co-exist in the same constitutional order. It should also be mentioned that Article 24 (2) of the European Charter follows the language of the CRC: “[…] the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration.” (German: “[…] muss das Wohl des Kindes [die] vorrangige Erwägung sein.“) Hence, the amendment would not only violate a fundamental principle of international law, but also European human rights law.

A third point of criticism relates to the amendment’s last sentence which protects ‘parents’ responsibilities’ from any infringement by children’s rights. Despite the slight irony of this clause, it calls into memory the long and controversial debate in the U.S. Senate about parents’ right to raise their children according to their will which, in the end, led to the U.S. being the only state which did not ratify the CRC.

However, the idea that children may gain rights against their parents is an unfortunate misconception. In contrast, the CRC openly states the importance of the “family as the fundamental group of society” and emphasizes that “states parties shall respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents, […] to provide, […] appropriate direction and guidance […]” (Article 5 CRC). Therefore, children’s rights in the CRC do not abridge parents’ responsibilities, but rather provide children with independent rights and protections, rendering the last sentence of the amendment superfluous.

Where to go from here?

It is fairly obvious that the proposed amendment would be a step back from the current protections of the rights of the child under German law. The text is incompatible with Germany’s obligations under international and European law and encapsulates a regressive idea of the role of children in our society. Additionally, such an unsound proposal on a rather uncontroversial topic would cast considerable doubt on Germany’s self-portrayal as an international champion of human rights.

Fortunately, a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament is needed to pass any amendment to the constitution (see Article 79 Basic Law) – which requires a significantly larger coalition than the administration currently has. To shape the amendment into a version which is in accordance with international and European law, Article 24 of the European Charta could serve as a useful blueprint. Also, considering the almost universal acceptance of the CRC, it would not be too outrageous if the amendment would include a direct reference to the “internationally recognized rights of the child” (for progressive examples mirroring the language of the CRC see: Article 28 of the South African Constitution, the Austrian Bundesverfassungsgesetz über die Rechte von Kindern, or Article 104 of the Norwegian Constitution; for a comparative study see: Conor O’Mahony, Constitutional Protection of Children’s Rights). This way, Germany could ensure compliance with international law, reaffirm its strong commitment to human rights, and strengthen the CRC.

It is laudable that Germany wants to be among the few states with children’s rights in their constitutions. However, the amendment in its current form would be a step in the wrong direction. If Germany wants to include children’s rights in its Constitution it should do so the right way, without half-hearted compromises and flagrant violations of international law.


5 Comments

  1. Vanessa Vohs Thu 14 Jan 2021 at 21:00Reply

    Thank you, Jan-Phillip Graf, for raising attention to such a contemporary and important topic!
    While I agree with your analysis that the wording of the amendment reflects a lower standard of protection in comparison with international and European obligations, it might seem a bit dramatic to call the amendment a “flagrant violation”. As you indicated, Germany is among the few countries who endeavour to establish constitutional rights for children – and some protection is arguably better than no protection. What is the superlative you would use to describe the situation in those states without ANY constitutional protection? In sum, I agree with your conclusion that the parliamentary debate should focus on amending the constitution with the necessary international standard children are protected by – this is a one-time chance to implement international rights, so Germany should do it in the right way.

    • Jan-Phillip Graf Fri 15 Jan 2021 at 10:31Reply

      Dear Vanessa,

      Thank you so much for your comment! While I chose the attribute in “flagrant violation” as a matter of style, I believe the amendment would be a violation of the CRC nonetheless. Not so much of Article 3 (1), which would actually require an act or ommission of the state or a private actor, but of Article 4 which requires state parties to properly implement the CRC. It is my understanding that the proposed amendment would not adequately implement the rights of the child because it falls below the standards in the CRC.
      You are definitely right that children are rather well-protected in Germany. And one could easily think that some protection in the constitution is better than none. However, right now the CRC is directly applicable under Article 25 GG and federal law. The rights of the child are already well-implemented into our legal order. The main advantage of a constitutional provision would therefore be enhanced visibility which is a significant thing – especially since courts and other state agencies are much more inclined to refer to and follow what is explicitly written in our constitution than some other rule which is found somewhere in international law.
      For these reasons, I would actually prefer no amendment over one which would come with the danger of creating a lower standard of protection. In my opinion, the easiest way of drafting a coherent amendment would be a declaratory statement to the effect of “Children have individual rights under this Constitution” with a reference to international law, for instance something like: “Children enjoy the protection of their individual rights of the child as recognized in universally accepted rules of international law.” Of course, I would very much welcome a more progressive amendment (as found in other constitutions), but this would probably clash with the very abstract and general legislative style of our constitution.

  2. Benedikt Behlert Thu 14 Jan 2021 at 23:41Reply

    Dear Jan-Phillip,

    thank you very much for this interesting and thought-provoking piece! I agree with your assessment of the draft being a half-hearted compromise. It really feels like that and it would, at the very least, be a wasted opportunity if this draft provision was included in the constitution.
    However, I am not entirely sure whether I would agree with your concern that the text of the provision might actually lower the “primary consideration” standard of Article 3 (1) CRC. In light of the BVerfG’s “Völkerrechtsfreundlichkeit des Grundgesetzes” principle, the indeterminate legal concept of “appropriate consideration” would probably (need to) be understood in line with the CRC as “a primary consideration”. Therefore, I think the damage in this regard would be rather limited. Nevertheless, I strongly support your suggestion that the new provision include an explicit reference to international standards. Given that the BVerfG derives the “Völkerrechtsfreundlichkeit” principle from the positive references to international law in the Basic Law, such a reference could perhaps even reinforce the “Völkerrechtsfreundlichkeit” in abstracto.

    • Jan-Phillip Graf Fri 15 Jan 2021 at 10:06Reply

      Dear Benedikt,

      Thanks for your comment! I agree, that in a perfect legal system, judges or other agents would read and apply a constitutional provision in light of international and European law. And this might very well be the case for some lawyers who have a special inclination towards international law. However, I suspect that a great many lawyers lack the time and knowledge to investigate the rights of the child before they interpret a constitutional provision. There is a chance that courts would develop the same standard under the constitution as codified in the CRC. However, I think we should not take the risk that German courts develop a different standard of protection of the best interests principle because they derive it from different wording. Especially keeping in mind that despite our constitution’s openness in abstracto, German courts are often very careful not to overuse international law, especially if it appears to contradict German law.

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