Corpun file 15241

ekathimerini.com (Kathimerini English web service), Athens, 25 February 2005

School 'discipline'

European Council [*] warns Greece over corporal punishment in schools

The European Council's [*] Committee for Social Rights has cautioned the Education Ministry over the absence of legislation to protect secondary school students from the use of corporal punishment, following a complaint lodged by a human rights group, sources said yesterday. Greek law forbids the use of corporal punishment in primary schools but does not stipulate the same for secondary schools. Greece may be called to appear before the committee in May unless it takes measures to amend its legislation, the sources said. The complaint was lodged by the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT).

* This is a mistranslation. The body referred to is known in English as the Council of Europe, a 46-nation intergovernmental body based in Strasbourg. "European Council" in English refers to the top decision-making level of the 25-state European Union (EU) based in Brussels. Unlike the EU, from which it is entirely separate, the Council of Europe is a purely advisory body with no lawmaking powers. --C.F.

Follow-up: 3 March 2005 - School discipline [Law amended to make CP in secondary schools illegal]