Commentary on Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General)
Helen Stalford, Kathryn Hollingsworth, Stephen Gilmore, eds, Children's Rights Judgments (Hart, 2017)
17 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2017
Date Written: May 1, 2017
Abstract
This chapter comprises a commentary on a rewritten judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v Canada (Attorney General) 2004 SCC 4. That decision concerned the constitutionality of the 'reasonable punishment' defence to the physical punishment of children. After outlining the original judgment, I critique the rewritten judgment, and ask whether reframing the legal issue in terms of children's rights might be more likely to invert the premise of the s43 debate than a human rights perspective.
Keywords: children's rights; human rights; corporal punishment; best interests; constitutionality
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation