ECHR: Child's right to regular contact with a parent in detention safeguarded

21st March 2023

A ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (21 March) that safeguards a child's right to regular contact with a parent in detention, specifically in this case pre-trial detention, has marked a major development in European case law.

This ruling will support advocacy for children with imprisoned parents both at the national and European level. The Court specifically cited the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States concerning children with imprisoned parents in its section on relevant international material.

This decision is in line with an amicus brief jointly submitted to the European Court of Human Rights by Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) and The AIRE Centre.

To read the amicus brief and more about this development, please see here.

IPRT is an application member of COPE and is in the process of becoming full members. Read more about IPRT's latest meeting with COPE here.

See also the Action for Children's and Families of Prisoners Network.