PROTECTING CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES FROM INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT: CONVERGING STANDARDS OF THE CRC, THE CRPD AND THE ECHR

Santrauka

Children with disabilities remain at heightened risk of discrimination, institutional neglect, and various forms of violence due to the compounded vulnerabilities of age and disability. International human rights law recognizes this intersectional vulnerability and has developed increasingly specific protections. This article examines how the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) applies Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) — the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment — in cases concerning children with disabilities, and to what extent this judicial interpretation incorporates principles derived from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The research applies doctrinal, comparative, and interpretative analysis of ECtHR case law, focusing on judgments addressing institutional neglect, involuntary medical treatment, sexual violence, and systemic failures in protection. It further evaluates the Court’s references to CRC “best interests” and protection-from-violence standards, as well as CRPD-based rights to dignity, autonomy, personal integrity, and inclusion. The findings reveal clear jurisprudential convergence between the ECtHR and UN treaty bodies. The Court has increasingly recognized that States bear extensive positive obligations toward children with disabilities: not only to refrain from abuse but to proactively prevent foreseeable risks, ensure adequate safeguards in care settings, and conduct effective investigations into allegations of harm. The Court’s jurisprudence demonstrates that systemic institutional neglect, involuntary medical treatment, and failures to protect against violence may engage State responsibility under Articles 2, 3, 8, and 13 ECHR. Representative judgments illustrate that disability-sensitive and child-rights-based approaches are now integral to the interpretation of Article 3. Overall, the analysis shows that disability-sensitive and child-rights-based approaches are now integral to the ECtHR’s interpretation of Article 3. This reflects a broader alignment of European human rights protection with CRC and CRPD standards, reinforcing that equal dignity and effective protection for children with disabilities must be ensured in practice, not only in law.