TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT OF CHILDREN IN UKRAINE

Section 1Analysis of legislation on prevention of torture and ill-treatment of childrenactions against the will of the victim. It is therefore unclear why a provisionshould be introduced into current legislation which will create a situation ofconflicting norms.A separate section establishes criminal liability for crimes against the will,honour and dignity of a person. The elements of the crime set out in the sectionenvisage criminal legal protection for any subject of law, including forminors.The Code also contains provisions on liability for ill-treatment of victimshowever such liability is envisaged for military servicemen. Actions are prohibitedwhich encroach upon gender freedom and inviolability, however thereare no special norms concerned with liability for ill-treatment of children.Family Code. This is another fundamental normative act for regulatingtreatment of children. There is only one mention in the Code of a means ofprotecting children from ill-treatment. This concerns the possibility of deprivinga mother or father of their parental rights for ill-treatment of a child. Whatis understood by “ill-treatment of a child” in the context of the Family Codeis set out in the above-mentioned Joint Order of the State Committee on theFamily and Youth, the MIA; Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministryof Health from 16.01.2004 No. 5/34/24/11.Regarding removal of parental rights the Code contains procedural provisionsand rules of procedure when stripping parents of their rights or reinstatingthem.On the basis of the brief outline of the main normative acts above, onecan conclude that current legislation declares basic rights for the protection ofthe child from torture, cruel or inhuman treatment, however these acts do notgive a clear idea how all the declarations are to be implemented in practiceand what mechanisms there are for protecting the child.1.3. Standards for the use of physical force,special means and weapons, as well as related issuesThe use of physical force, special means and weapons are as a general ruleunacceptable. Yet sometimes the legislators consent to the use of these methods.Cases when they can be used are exceptional and linked first and foremostwith aggressive behaviour from certain individuals. Moreover such ag-41