XXX Jon. I 2014 (Parents, Guardians and Children)

The Purpose of this Act is to codify the legal responsibilities of the parents and/or guardians of children under sixteen years towards said children, to lay out the rights of parents and guardians in regards to their children, and to codify the rights belonging specifically to children.

The parents of an individual are the biological mother and father of said individual. In regards to Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this same Act, “parent(s)” shall also apply to the appointed guardian or guardians of a child under the age of sixteen (see Paragraph of this same Act), in which cases said term does not apply to the biological parents of the child in question; “parent(s)” can also apply to the step-mother or step-father of a child under the age of sixteen at the same time as both the biological mother and father.

The parents of a child under the age of sixteen years have the responsibilities of safeguarding and promoting the child’s health, development and welfare; providing the child with appropriate direction and guidance; maintaining personal relations and direct contact with the child; and acting as the child’s legal representative. The responsibility to provide the child with appropriate direction and guidance lasts until they reach the age of eighteen years.

To allow them to effectively fulfil the responsibilities laid down in Paragraph 3 of this same Act, parents have the right to have the child living with them, or otherwise to regulate the child’s residence; to appropriately control, direct or guide the child’s upbringing; if the child is not living with them, to maintain contact with the child on a regular basis; and to act as the legal representative of the child.

A guardian is a person appointed by a magistrate to assume the rights and responsibilities laid out in Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this same Act in place of a parent or parents in regards to a child who is under sixteen years of age. A guardian or guardians may be appointed should the child in question be orphaned, their parent or parents are found guilty of child abuse, or if for some other reason it becomes impossible for their parent or parents to undertake the responsibilities laid out in Paragraph 3 of this same Act. A guardian must be a suitable person to take care for the child in question.

Should there be any dispute between biological parents, step-parents, appointed guardians or other interested parties over by whom a child under sixteen years should be raised, the matter will be decided by a magistrate.

Taking inspiration from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, the Empire of Austenasia hereby affirms that all children under the age of sixteen hold the following rights:

1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, magistrates’ or criminal courts, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

2. Children shall be registered with the Census immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by their parents.

3. Children have the right to an identity, including nationality, name and family relations.

4. A child shall not be separated from their parents against their will, except when a magistrate determines in accordance with the law that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child.

5. A child who is capable of forming their own views has the right to express them freely in all matters affecting them, with their views being given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity.

6. All children have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to freedom of association and to freedom of peaceful assembly in conformity with the law, and to protection from interference in their privacy and attacks on their reputation.

7. All children have the right to a standard of living adequate for their personal, physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual, moral, cultural and social development.

8. All children have the right to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to their age.

9. All children have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous to their health or to interfere with their education or development. Not including those working in acting or modelling, no person under the age of 13 years shall be given employment.

10. The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in sexual activity is the second-class felony of child abuse.

11. Child pornography is from henceforth a banned item. Possession, production or sale of such is a second-class felony. [This subsection has been amended – see CLX Jon. I 2021, Paragraph 8]

12. No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age.

13. No child shall be conscripted or in any other way forced to enlist in or otherwise serve in a military capacity alongside the Austenasian Armed Forces.