Know your rights: Taking legal action

Apart from the special provisions made in Rwandan constitution and other laws of the land for children, you are entitled to all the rights that are generally accorded to human beings. The access to these rights and freedoms begin from the time you are conceived until the day of your demise. The reality is that once in a while, you will encounter people who tamper with your rights thinking that because you are a child, you are powerless to do anything. For instance, you could come up with a great idea or develop a great piece of work, and tell someone about it/show it to someone, only for that person to take your idea or steal your work and use it for their own gain without your permission or acknowledging you as the author. This person would be in copyright infringement and you should not stand by to let someone take credit or get paid for something you created. Seek legal action. The good thing is that you don’t have to do it alone. You can seek representation. Article 103 of the law governing persons and family, otherwise known as civil code book 1 talks about representation of a minor and it states: “Apart from instances where he/she can perform by himself/herself, a minor is represented by a person who exercises parental authority over him/her in the exercise of civil rights.” The article further explains that a minor is represented in court by the person who exercises parental authority over him/her or by organizations of child rights; a lawsuit is filed on behalf of the minor. In case you are wondering, ‘a minor’ is a term commonly used to refer to people who are below the age of 18. However article 103 continues that; if you have reached the age of sixteen (16), you can, with authorization from the President of the court or his/her substitute file a case related to your status or the status of another child. This means that you can help your sibling whose rights have been violated by exercising parental authority. This would be helpful if the rights of your little brother or sister have been tampered with and you are the only one interested or capable of representing them. If you are above 16, you can also seek authorization to take part in any other legal action that you can engage in by yourself.

Education

Know your rights: Taking legal action