The Czech Republic has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the protection of children's rights and dignity by fully prohibiting all corporal punishment of children.

We are pleased to announce that, as of January 1, 2026, corporal punishment of children will be explicitly prohibited by law. This significant step follows the adoption of an amendment to the Civil Code, which was signed by the President on July 17, 2025.

The amendment clearly states that corporal punishment, mental distress, and other degrading measures are incompatible with the human dignity of the child. Specifically, § 884 now provides that a child’s dignity is violated by such practices. Furthermore, § 858 reinforces the duty of parents to care for the child’s physical, emotional, intellectual, and moral development without resorting to corporal punishment or other harmful methods.

This reform is the result of a broad societal and political consensus and reflects a shared commitment to promoting positive, non-violent upbringing and strengthening the legal protection of all children.

This legislative measure will have significant positive impacts: it strengthens the legal protection of children, sets a clear standard for respectful and non-violent parenting, and supports cultural change towards positive upbringing. It also provides a clearer framework for professionals working with families and helps prevent violence and abuse in all settings.

The Czech Government will support its implementation through awareness, education, and cooperation.

More information about childhood without violence can be found on the following website:

Dětství bez násilí – přímá podpora pro děti a rodiče

With this law reform, the Czech Republic becomes the 69th state worldwide to realise children’s rights to protection from all violent punishment.

We applaud this landmark progress for children and warmly welcome the implementation measures planned by the Government and its partners to put the law into practice! 

Together, the prohibition of corporal punishment and its implementation will enable Czechia to make significant progress in eliminating all forms of violence against children in whatever context they occur.

With a child population of 1,989,000, prohibition in Czech Republic brings the total number of children worldwide protected by law from corporal punishment to approximately 345 million, or 15% of the global child population.

But many children around the world are still waiting to be protected from legalized violence. Considering the global commitment to ending all violence against children in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we call on all remaining governments to enact prohibition as a matter of priority.

Find out more:

• Read our country report for The Czech Republic.
• Read about progress towards universal prohibition of corporal punishment in Europe.
• Read our guide to putting prohibition of corporal punishment into practice.