The Best Interests of the Child and Reasonable Corporal Punishment

Abstract

Sixty two nations worldwide have amended laws on parental authority, specifically related to corporal punishment. Some nations continue to view as lawful “moderate” and “reasonable” acts committed in the best interest of the child. Remaining strong controversies raise the question of defining the best interest of the child. This study focuses on the child protection from corporal punishment right enacted in Thai Civil Law’s Section 1567 (2) under the concept of “the best interest of child”. The goal was to suggest appropriate solutions for Thailand.

The study found that the states still permit corporal punishment as in the best interest of the child according to the “primary consideration” of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC; 1989). Other groups embracing legal reform follow the “paramount consideration” of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child by the United Nations in 1959. By comparison, Thai law protects children by following the primary consideration but lacks compre-hensive and effective legal reform on corporal punishment. For the reasons stated above, this study proposes that legal reform allowing reasonable corporal punishment be implemented by adding Section 1567/1 to the Civil and Commercial Code. This includes the development of the list of specific acts to prevent potential harm to children together with the establishment of guidelines for reasonable evaluation to be applied by all related departments.