Secure Childcare and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Illuminating the Applicable Rights Framework

Case law illustrates both the complexity of the regimes in England and Wales whereby children may be deprived of their liberty for welfare reasons and the inadequacy of provision to meet complex needs, which has led to a significant use of the power of the High Court to order a Deprivation of Liberty in unsuitable places. Calls have been made for legislative reform and less use of detention. Assuming human rights compliance will be a feature of a new framework, this article examines how the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), as illuminated by the comments of its expert Treaty Body, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee), provides useful material as to the contents of a suitable legislative framework. Also outlined is how the CRPD has value under the rights framework most often referenced in the UK, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).