Open AccessDEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN POLAND – SELECTED ASPECTS
Author(s) -
Małgorzata Kmak
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mest journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2334-7171
pISSN - 2334-7058
DOI - 10.12709/mest.09.09.01.06
Subject(s) - dignity , human rights , state (computer science) , law , political science , child rights , fundamental rights , cruelty , international human rights law , algorithm , computer science
Children’s rights are human rights, they result from the personal dignity and uniqueness of the child as a person. They apply to every child, they cannot be stripped away or renounced. It also means that if a child has a right, the state must ensure that it can be exercised. Further, if the child has a certain right, it means that there must also be procedures to enforce it. The beginning of the international movement for the protection of children's rights dates back to 1874, when the first organization for the protection of children's rights, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, was founded in The United States. In Europe, at a similar time, since 1880, international societies of criminologists, youth court judges, care for abandoned and homeless children were being established to work on relaxing the criminal law for minors or establishing educational and care facilities for children. It was in the 19th century when the rights of the child were discussed in Poland for the first time. Moral, religious, or customary norms regulated children’s place in the community. However, the development of these rights was a long process that had started in Poland much earlier. The article aims to present selected historical situations affecting the development process and the current state of children's rights in Poland.