In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

"alternative care" means formal care options availed to a child without parental care;

"approved home" means a Government or non-governmental home approved by the Minister to provide substitute family care for a child and includes a babies\' home and children\'s home which provide care and accommodation for children aged below six years and aged between three to under eighteen years respectively;

"authorised person" means an official or other person authorised expressly or impliedly to perform the act in question;

"Authority" means the National Children Authority established under section 11;

"Board" means the Board of Directors established under section 13;

"care order" means a care order made under Part VI of this Act and includes an interim care order;

"Chairperson" means a Chairperson of the Board of Directors;

"chief magistrate's court" means a magistrate's court presided over by a chief magistrate;

"child exploitation" means the employment of a child in activities from which other people derive a benefit, whether financial, sexual or political and includes activities such as child trafficking, child prostitution, child pornography and involvement of children in armed conflict;

"child labour" means work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to a child, and the circumstances under which it is performed jeopardises the health, safety, morals and education of a child;

"child marriage" means any union whether formal or informal involving any person below the age of eighteen years for the purpose of living as husband and wife;

"child neglect" means the failure to provide for the basic physical, emotional and developmental needs of a child, in areas such as health, education, emotional development, nutrition, shelter and safe living conditions, which cause or have a high probability of causing impairment to a child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development;

"child pornography" means any representation through publication, exhibition, cinematography, indecent show, through information technology or by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activity, or any representation of sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes;

"child trafficking" means recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction or fraud, deception, abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation;

"children with special needs" means children who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others;

"competent authority" means an official or body or other person authorised expressly or impliedly by any enactment or otherwise to perform the act in question;

"corporal punishment" means any punishment in which physical force is intentionally used to cause pain or injury to a child, and includes punishment which is intended to belittle, humiliate or ridicule a child;

"currency point" has the value assigned to it in Schedule 1 to this Act;

"custodian" means a person in whose care a child is physically placed;

"detention centre" means a detention centre within the meaning of section 142;

"exclusion order" means an exclusion order made under section 60;

"foster care placement" means the placement of a child with a person who is not his or her parent or relative and who is willing to undertake the care and maintenance of the child;

"foster parent" means a person not being the biological mother, father or relative of the child who assumes parental responsibility of the child by way of a care order;

"guardian" means a person having parental responsibility for a child;

"joint custody" means an order granting custody of a child to two or more persons;

"joint guardianship" means two or more persons having parental responsibility of a child;

"local authority" means a local government council;

"member" means a member of the Board of Directors;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for children's welfare;

"parent" means the biological mother or father or adoptive mother or father of a child;

"parental responsibility" means all rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child;

"person in a position of authority" has the meaning assigned to it by section 114;

"place of safety" means a place where food, protection and accommodation are provided by a fit person to a child to whom section 63 applies;

"relative" means a person connected with another or others by blood or marriage;

"remand home" means a place declared by the Minister to be a remand home under section 136 or any other place declared to be a remand home under any other enactment;

"Rules Committee" means the Rules Committee provided for by section 44 of the Judicature Act;

"significant harm" means significant harm within the meaning of section 47;

"supervision order" means a supervision order made under Part VI of this Act and includes an interim supervision order;

"supervisor" means the person under whose supervision a child has been placed under a supervision order or an interim supervision order;

"violence" means any form of physical, emotional or mental injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation, including sexual abuse, intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against an individual which may result in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation;

"welfare report" means a welfare report within the meaning of section 46.

A child is a person below the age of eighteen years.

(1)The welfare of the child shall be of paramount consideration whenever the State, a court, a tribunal, a local authority or any person determines any question in respect to the upbringing of a child, the administration of property of a child, or the application of any income arising from that administration.

(2)In all matters relating to a child, whether before a court of law or before any other person, regard shall be had to the general principle that any delay in determining the matter is likely to be prejudicial to the welfare of the child.

(3)In determining any question under subsection (1), court or any other person shall have regard to—

(1)Every child shall have the right to—

(2)Subject to subsection (1)(a), where a competent authority determines in accordance with the laws and procedure applicable that it is in the best interest of the child to separate the child from his or her parent, the best substitute care available shall be provided for the child.

(3)Any person who contravenes the provision of subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred twenty currency points or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both.

(4)Subject to subsection (1)(e), where a child is deprived of his or her identity, the Government shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to establishing his or her identity.

(5)A person who witnesses an abuse against the rights of a child shall, as soon as possible, report the matter to the police or any authority responsible for child welfare.

(6)Any person who fails to comply with subsection (4) commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding twenty currency points or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both.

(1)It shall be the duty of a parent, guardian or any person having custody of a child to maintain that child and, in particular, that duty gives a child the right to—

(2)Any person having custody of a child shall protect the child from discrimination, violence, abuse and neglect.