U.S. ratification of Convention on the Rights of Children: The Comprehensive Landscape for the Reformation of Juvenile Justice in America
Introduction
The impact of the United Nations (hereinafter “U.N.”) Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter “CRC” or “Convention”) on the United States (hereinafter “U.S.”) lies in its ability to enhance existing constitutional protections by explicitly codifying children as a vulnerable class in society whom are entitled to special protection that are enforceable under international law. Through the ratification of the CRC, signatory states are bound to recognize a child’s inherent individual rights and agree to “respect and ensure” these rights. The Convention garnered a historical victory for human rights activists because it granted children, defined as all humans prior to the age of eighteen, full—or equal—rights in international law as that of their majority counterparts.
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Similar to the foundation of American juvenile law, the Convention’s central focus is the best interest of the child at all stages in judicial and administrative proceedings. Articles 12 and 42 of the Convention outline this focus by manifesting, through its language, the procedural right for a child to participate in their representation as an individual person with legal standing whom is made aware of their substantive rights under international law. Thus, enabling the child to assert those rights in judicial and administrative proceedings affecting his or her welfare and interest. States assume the duty of enacting the Convention beyond a superficial ideology to materialize the articles via the passage of mirrored, comprehensive legislation within their