Children’s Law Centre Annual Lecture Underscores Importance of ECHR in Protecting Children’s Rights
06 May 2025
The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) Annual Lecture 2025 was held in the Old Bar Library at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast, with the keynote address being delivered by former President and Judge of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Síofra O’Leary. The lecture explored the role of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in protecting the rights and voices of children.
In her address, titled Children’s Voices and the Law: Reflections on the Role and Contribution of the ECHR, Judge O’Leary outlined how Strasbourg case law has evolved to better reflect the needs, rights and participation of children, despite the Convention’s original adult-focused framing.
Drawing on landmark judgments, Judge O’Leary examined key issues such as surrogacy, childcare and adoption, domestic violence, legal representation, and more recent climate change cases. She emphasised that children must be treated as rights holders, not bystanders, and underscored the responsibility of states to ensure child-friendly justice systems.
Judge O’Leary also reflected on the continued important role of the ECHR, particularly in the context of peace and prosperity, as well as the positive role of the UK judiciary in developing convention rights and continuing domestic case law relating to the Human Rights Act 1998.
Speaking after the event, Children’s Law Centre Director Paddy Kelly said: “Twenty five years on from the Human Rights Act coming into force it is important to not only reflect on how much has changed and how children’s rights are better protected in law, policy and practice and the important role the European Court of Human Rights has played in securing those rights. But also, to reflect on what remains outstanding and how, in challenging times, we can best secure what has been achieved and ensure the onward progress of protecting the rights of our most vulnerable citizens.
“It was a privilege to have Judge O’Leary outline so eloquently the continued important role that the Convention and the European Court of Human Rights plays in protecting the rights of children and young people.”