Recent Trends in the Argumentation of the European Court of Human Rights on Children’s Rights
Copyright (c) 2025 Lux Ágnes

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a key human rights treaty ratified by all EU member states and beyond. Although it does not focus specifically on children, it includes relevant provisions and obliges states to protect the rights of all individuals, including children. Moreover, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN CRC) is ratified by all ECHR member states, which presumably contributed to the greater focus to the increase of child rights reasoning. This paper explores how ECHR provisions – particularly Article 8 on the right to privacy and family life, Article 3 on the prohibition of torture and other forms of cruel, degrading treatment, and Article 14 on non-discrimination – and recent European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings contribute to the wider protection of children’s rights, analysing their use as rhetorical arguments in legal reasoning.
Keywords:
How to Cite
References
Arora, S. K., Shah, D., Chaturvedi, S. & Gupta, P. (2015). Defining and Measuring Vulnerability in Young People. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 40(3), 193–197. Online: https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.158868
Bagattini, A. (2019). Children’s Well-being and Vulnerability. Ethics and Social Welfare, 13(3), 211–215. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2019.1647973
Bán-Forgách, N., Mezei, K. & Halász, I. (2024). Artificial Intelligence and the Right of the Child. In Z. Mirjanic (Ed.), Zbornik radova. Vol. 1: Međunarodni naučni skup “Izazovi i perspektive razvoja pravnih sistema u XXI vijeku” (pp. 91–100). Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Banjoj Luci.
Breen, C., Krutzinna, J., Luhamaa, K. & Skivenes, M. (2020). Family Life for Children in State Care: An Analysis of the European Court of Human Rights’ Reasoning on Adoption Without Consent. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 28(4), 715–747. Online: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-28040001
Brucato, G. (2023). Children after War: From Moral Development Claims to Welfare and Agency Rights. Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies, 64(1), 115–133. Online: https://doi.org/10.1556/2052.2023.00437
Burgund Isakov, A., Zegarac, N. & Markovic, V. (2023). Surviving their Journey: A Trauma-informed Approach to Migrant Children’s Experiences of Violence on the Western Balkan Route. Intersections. East European Journal of Society and Politics, 9(2), 89–107. Online: https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v9i2.1116
Cantwell, N. (2011). Are Children’s Rights Still Human? In A. Invernizzi & J. Williams (Eds.), The Human Rights of Children. From Visions to Implementation (pp. 37–59). Routledge. Online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315095769-4
Council of Europe (2010). Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on Child-Friendly Justice. Council of Europe. Online: https://search.coe.int/cm?i=09000016804b2cf3
Dzuráková, D. (2022). Implications of Digitalization during the Covid-19 Pandemics. Institutiones Administrationis. Journal of Administrative Sciences, 2(1), 36–47. Online: https://doi.org/10.54201/iajas.v2i1.30
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) (2022). Handbook on European Law Relating to the Rights of the Child. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Council of Europe. Online: https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2022/handbook-european-law-child-rights
ECtHR Press Unit (2023, April). Factsheet – Children’s Rights. European Court of Human Rights. Online: https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/fs_childrens_eng
ECtHR Press Unit (2024a, April). Factsheet – Protection of Minors. European Court of Human Rights. Online: https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/FS_Minors_ENG
ECtHR Press Unit (2024b, April). Factsheet – International Child Abductions. European Court of Human Rights. Online: https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/FS_Child_abductions_ENG
ECtHR Press Unit (2024c, October). Factsheet – Unaccompanied Migrant Minors in Detention. European Court of Human Rights. Online: https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/FS_Unaccompanied_migrant_minors_detention_ENG
Etzel, R. A. (2020). The Special Vulnerability of Children. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 227. Online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113516
Fenton-Glynn, C. (2020). Children and the European Court of Human Rights. Oxford University Press. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198787518.001.0001
Florescu, S., Liefaard, T. & Bruning, M. (2015). Children’s Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. NJCM-Bulletin, 40(4), 451–453. Online: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/39663
Foussard, C., Vigil, A. & Perez, M. (2023). Impact on Child Justice in a World of Digital Courts: Perspectives from the Bench. Intersections. East European Journal of Society and Politics, 9(2), 29–53. Online: https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v9i2.1143
Helland, T. (2024). Criticism and Response: Exploring the Development of Children’s Human Rights in Case Law from the European Court of Human Rights and the Norwegian Supreme Court. PhD Thesis, University of Bergen. Online: https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3146438
Helland, T. & Hollekim, R. (2023). The Convention on the Rights of the Child’s Imprint on Judgments from the European Court of Human Rights: A Negligible Footprint? Nordic Journal of Human Rights, 41(2), 213–233. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/18918131.2023.2204634
Jacobsen, A. F. (2016). Children’s Rights in the European Court of Human Rights – An Emerging Power Structure. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 24(3), 548–574. Online: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02403003
Kilkelly, U. (1999). The Child and the European Convention on Human Rights. Ashgate.
Kilkelly, U. (2010). Protecting Children’s Rights under the ECHR: The Role of Positive Obligations. Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, 61(3), 245–261. Online: https://doi.org/10.53386/nilq.v61i3.453
Kilkelly, U. (2015). The CRC in Litigation under the ECHR. In T. Liefaard & J. E. Doek (Eds.), Litigating the Rights of the Child. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Domestic and International Jurisprudence (pp. 193–209). Springer. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9445-9_12
Kilkelly, U. (2016). The Child and the European Convention on Human Rights. Routledge. Online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003579427
Könczöl, M. (2009). What There is Left and How It Works: Ancient Rhetoric and the Semiotics of Law. International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 22, 399–410. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-009-9117-5
Li, J. (2022, March 21). “Children Are Very Vulnerable.” Interview. WZB Mitteilungen, 175. WZB Berlin Social Science Center. Online: https://wzb.eu/en/article/children-are-very-vulnerable
Linhares, J. M. A. (2025). The Four Doors to Panjuridi(ci)sm and the Question about the Limits of Law: Returning to a Rarely Frequented Topos. In A. M. Gaudêncio (Ed.), Exploring the Boundaries of Law. Springer. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69990-0_2
Lux, Á. (2025). Successful Unsuccessful Children’s Rights Climate Cases? Lessons Learned from the Sacchi and Agostinho Cases or the Power of a Non-judicial Body. Católica Law Review,9(1), 57–81. Online: https://doi.org/10.34632/catolicalawreview.2025.17792
Meyer, M. (2014). What Is the Use of Topics in Rhetoric? Revue internationale de philosophie, 270(4), 447–462. https://doi.org/10.3917/rip.270.0447
Nolan, A. (2024). Children and Future Generations Rights before the Courts: The Vexed Question of Definitions. Transnational Environmental Law, 13(3), 522–546. Online: https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102524000165
O’Donnell, K. (1995). Protection of Family Life: Positive Approaches and the ECHR. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 17, 261–279. Online: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069508413659
Pap, M. (2023). The Right to Respect for Private and Family Life of Children Born through International Surrogacy in the Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights. Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies, 64(1), 32–47. Online: https://doi.org/10.1556/2052.2023.00421
Pinheiro, P. S. (2006). The World Report on Violence against Children. United Nations. Online: https://tinyurl.com/3atxxbvj
Rinaldi, P. (2023). The Winding Access to Legal Status for Unaccompanied Migrant Minors in Spain. Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies, 64(1), 48–70. Online: https://doi.org/10.1556/2052.2023.00426
Rubinelli, S. (2006). The Ancient Argumentative Game: τóπoι and loci in Action. Argumentation, 20, 253–272. Online: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10503-006-9010-2
Savaresi, A., Nordlander, L. & Wewerinke-Singh, M. (2024, April 12). Climate Change Litigation before the European Court of Human Rights: A New Dawn. GNHRE. Online: https://gnhre.org/?p=17984
Sormunen, M. (2020). Understanding the Best Interests of the Child as a Procedural Obligation: The Example of the European Court of Human Rights. Human Rights Law Review, 20(4), 745–768. Online: https://doi.org/10.1093/hrlr/ngaa034
Stöckl, H., Fabbri, C., Cook, H., Galez-Davis, C., Grant, N., Lo, Y., Kiss, L. & Zimmerman, C. (2021). Human Trafficking and Violence: Findings from the Largest Global Dataset of Trafficking Survivors. Journal of Migration and Health, 4. Online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmh.2021.100073
The research for this paper was supported by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (grant ID: NKFIH FK 138346, ‘Legal Argumentation in the 21st Century’), and a Bolyai János Research Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.