Important decision
The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that even physical punishment of a moderate intensity constitutes a disproportionate interference with the dignity of the child. Thus, parents cannot defend themselves by claiming that it was “just an educational spanking”. The verdict responds to the case of a woman who repeatedly punished her son with a wooden spatula.
The Supreme Administrative Court rejected the appeal of a mother who faced a reprimand and a fine for physically punishing her eight-year-old son several times a week. Although she claimed that it was a “defence” against the child’s aggressive behaviour and that the blows were mild, the court stressed that any corporal punishment was an interference with the child’s human dignity – and thus a violation of the law.
The court also said that it was not necessary to examine how hard the blow was or what it was caused by. The mere fact of the use of physical punishment, it said, was sufficient to constitute an offence. The decision thus sets a clear bar for future cases and confirms the trend towards a complete ban on corporal punishment.
We go into more detail in our next article.
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