A Critical Appraisal of the Child and Adolescent Statute – ECA (1990) and the Brazilian System and Policies Toward the Protection of Children’s Rights

Part IX – The ECA by Itself

José Anastácio de Sousa Aguiar

The Statute of the Child and Adolescent is divided in two volumes. Volume 1 defines basic rights – the right to life and health (arts. 7 to 14); the right to liberty, respect and dignity (arts. 15 to 18); the right to family and community life (arts. 19 to 24); the right to education, culture, sports and leisure (arts. 53 to 59); the right to professional training and employment protection (arts. 60 to 69) – and the obligation, defined as being everybody’s, to prevent the occurrence of any threat or violation of children’s and adolescents’ rights (arts. 70 to 85). Any individual or corporate entity that fails to comply with the norms of prevention shall be held responsible (art. 73).

Volume 2 establishes the guidelines for the Policy of Assistance for Children’s and Adolescents’ Rights (arts. 86 to 89); makes provisions concerning childcare organizations and their inspection and the forms of assistance (arts. 90 to 97); and specifies the protection measures for children and adolescents in a risk situation (arts. 98 to 102). It also defines the practice of a juvenile offence (arts. 103 to 105), the rights of the adolescent offender (arts. 106 to 109), the legal guarantees (arts. 110 to 111), socio-educational measures (arts. 112 to 125), the attributions and functioning of the Children’s Court (arts. 145 to 151). Finally, it makes provisions concerning crimes practiced against children and adolescents, by act or omission (arts. 225 to 244), as well as administrative infractions committed in detriment to the rights of the child and adolescent (arts. 245 to 258).

That new structure gave to the federal Government the responsibility to coordinate and establish the general norms of the new policy, while the states and municipalities coordinate and execute the programmes and activities. The statute lays down that this policy will be implemented through an interlinked set of government and non-governmental initiatives and actions. Of the many innovations in the ECA, the following are the most characteristic:

. Service delivery was devolved to municipal level (art. 8);

. Coercive confinement in case of social distress was removed (art. 106);

. The equal participation of the government and civil society at the three political and administrative levels (federal, state and municipal) was guaranteed by the establishment of Councils on the Child and the Adolescent (art. 88, II);

. There is a differentiation of the roles of Judiciary, with municipal  Guardianship Councils assuming responsibility for dealing with cases that do not represent punishable offences and do not involve significant changes in the legal status of children or adolescents (arts. 136 and 137).

Perhaps, one of the most important features related to ECA is that it has committed the State, both on the domestic and international plane, to respect, defend and promote children’s rights.