A child in Papua New Guinea holds rights from three sources: the Constitution, the Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015, and the international conventions the Act gives effect to.
Section 6 — rights of the child
The rights of a child under this Act and other laws and relevant international conventions shall be accorded to a child.
Section 6 is a bridging provision. It does not itself list rights; it directs that rights from three bodies of law be accorded to the child.
The reference to international conventions matters. Section 4(l) makes it an objective of the Act to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and related conventions, and section 6 carries that into the operative provisions.
Section 7 — the right to live with parents
A child is entitled to live with his parents unless it is determined that it is in the best interests of the child to separate him from his parents and place him in a child-friendly place or in an out-of-home care place in accordance with this Act.
Separation requires a determination that it is in the child’s best interests, and placement in accordance with this Act. There is no lawful removal outside the Act’s machinery.
That machinery is: a warrant under section 43, removal under section 44, the emergency powers in section 46, temporary custody under section 51, or a protection order made by the Family Court.
Section 7 sits with section 5(1)(d), (f), (g) and (h): the family is the preferred environment, support it so the child can remain, intervene as little as possible, and aim at return.
Rights under the Constitution
The Constitution does not confine its rights to adults. A child has the right to life (s 35), freedom from inhuman treatment (s 36), the protection of the law (s 37), liberty of the person (s 42), freedom from forced labour (s 43), privacy (s 49) and equality (s 55).
Basic Social Obligation (h) places an equal obligation on parents to support, assist and educate their children without discrimination — the constitutional root of section 8.
Section 36 — freedom from inhuman treatment — underlies the offence provisions and the harmful customary practices provision in section 80.
The specific rights the Act creates
| Right | Provision |
|---|---|
| Best interests paramount in every decision | s 5(1)(a) |
| Protection from all forms of abuse, neglect and maltreatment | s 5(1)(b) |
| Equal opportunity and access to education | s 5(1)(c) |
| To express views freely and have them given due weight | s 5(1)(l), s 5(2) |
| To have culture, ability, language and religion taken into account | s 5(1)(m), s 5(1)(j) |
| To live with parents unless separation is in his best interests | s 7 |
| To nutrition, immunisation, clothing, shelter, education and guidance, medical attention | s 8(1) |
| Protection from discrimination, violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation | s 8(2) |
| Freedom from discrimination on any ground | s 5(5) |
| To maintain close relationships while in care | s 5(1)(k) |
| To be maintained by court order | s 108 |
Who holds these rights
“Child” means a person including a boy or girl child under the age of 18 years.
The Act’s age of childhood is 18. Other statutes use different ages for different purposes:
- Marriage Act section 7 — marriageable age of 18 for a man and 16 for a woman, with reductions on a judge’s or magistrate’s order;
- Matrimonial Causes Act section 59 — children under 16 at the date of the decree nisi;
- Matrimonial Causes Act sections 73(4) and 75(3) — orders not made for a child who has attained 21 without special circumstances;
- Adoption of Children Act — its own age limits for adoption.
Note also section 86 of this Act, which makes child marriage an offence, and the child labour provisions in Part VI.
Where a child is a victim of violence, section 119 directs that the Family Protection Act 2013 applies; where the child is the subject of a criminal proceeding, the Juvenile Justice Act 2014 governs.
Sources
- Lukautim Pikinini Act 2015 — ss 2, 4–9, 80, 86, 108, 119
- Constitution — ss 35–37, 42, 43, 49, 55; Basic Social Obligations
- Marriage Act (Chapter 280) — s 7
- Juvenile Justice Act 2014
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Marriage Act (Chapter 280) and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.