ФИЗИЧКО КАЖЊАВАЊЕ У СВЕТЛУ ПРАВА ДЕТЕТА
CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN LIGHT OF CHILDREN`S RIGHTS

Summary/Abstract: Making allowances for corporal punishment of children implies a departure from the principle of inviolability of the human bodily integrity. From the perspective of international law, corporal punishment of children is absolutely prohibited. Corporal punishment of children within the family, school or an institution for the execution of sanctions constitutes a violation of human dignity, the right to physical integrity, as well as a violation of the principle of equality in effectuating the protection of children’s rights. Observed from a perspective of human rights, there is a huge gap between international standards and legal solutions in individual states. Despite the general international trend concerning the necessity of imposing the absolute prohibition of all types of corporal punishment, there is still a significant number of states which are fairly reserved in terms of sanctioning of such parenting methods. Moderate and reasonable corporal punishment within the family is allowed in most states. There is a common widely accepted assumption that no parent wants to hurt their child, nor cause even the slightest harm to the child. Thus, the model of moderate legal intervention in relations between parents and children prevails, which entails sanctioning only those cases of corporal punishment that result in physical injury or abuse of a child. Considering the endeavours in civil legislation to prohibit corporal punishment of children in Serbia, this circumstance suggests a rational and balanced approach to resolving this issue. It implies that the primary goal is raising the parents’ awareness about the rights of the child rather than merely punishing the parents.

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