The Child’s Right to Education in Canonical and International Legislation

Abstract

The right to an education is a fundamental human right. Church legislation protects it, promotes it, and regulates it by means of its own provisions. In the first part of this presentation, we analyze the historical development of the right to education in ecclesiastical legislation. It begins with the encyclical Arcanum divinae sapientie and ends with the provisions of the Code of Canon Law of 1917. In the Code, the right to education is presented as the primary goal and obligation of parents. The declaration on Christian Education Gravissimum educationis confirms the traditional postulate of education. However, special emphasis is placed on the provisions of the current Code of Canon Law. Some documents based on international law are also considered in the presentation. First, the Geneva Declaration is put forward, according to which children should have access to the means necessary for their development, whether material or spiritual. The provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states in Article 26 that this is a right to which everyone is entitled. Particularly relevant to our topic are the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, proposed in Articles 28–2 which deal with education in a special way. An overview of the canonical and international provisions on the right of the child to education helps to distinguish the nature of this right and the possibilities for its practical implementation.