Legal implementation of the UNCRC: lessons to be learned from the constitutional experience of South Africa

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ("CRC") is the leading international instrument recognising the human rights of children across all areas of their lives. Amid measures of legal incorporation, giving constitutional expression to children's rights represents a high watermark of legal protection. South Africa was an early mover in this space adopting a strong children's rights provision in the 1996 South Africa Constitution which made children's rights justiciable as part of a Bill of Rights. Over the last two decades, an empowered judiciary and an active community of legal advocates have combined to enable the South African Constitutional Court to create a body of case-law that has provided leadership globally in the recognition and enforcement of the constitutional rights of children. Against the backdrop of the Convention's 30th anniversary and increased emphasis on the legal implementation of children's rights, this article reflects on the South African experience of using its Constitution to advance children's rights. Using South Africa as a case study, it considers how the potential associated with giving children's rights the highest status in a country's legal system can be maximised. It identifies the lessons to be learned from the South African experience before concluding with a reminder that however dynamic the development of children's rights law, the effectiveness of the CRC's implementation can only ever be measured by the extent to which it improves children's enjoyment of their rights.