Safeguarding Children's Rights in Sport: From Legal Standards to Everyday Practice

Authors

Suzana Kraljić
University of Maribor, Faculty of Law
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4438-6457

Synopsis

Safeguarding children's rights in sport has become an increasingly important legal issue. While sporting environments offer significant developmental benefits, they may also expose children to risks such as abuse (e.g., sexual, physical, neglect). Today, international legal standards and national legal frameworks impose clear obligations on states and sports organizations to protect children and their rights. This article examines the gap between formal legal requirements in sports and how they are implemented in practice. It also explores the selected international cases and the Slovenian criminal law framework, and relevant Slovenian case-law relevant to the abuse of children in sports.

Author Biography

Suzana Kraljić, University of Maribor, Faculty of Law

Dr. Suzana Kraljić is a full professor at the University of Maribor, Faculty of Law. She teaches and researches family law (especially child law), medical law, and succession law. She is head of the Center for Medical Law, Faculty of Law, University of Maribor. She is/was the holder of five bilateral and four students projects. She has also cooperated in various international projects. She was a visiting lecturer at the Masaryk University, University of Bucharest, Leibnitz University Hannover, ELTE Budapest, University of Istanbul, University of Malta, University of Lisboa… Her bibliography encompasses several books and a number of book chapters and articles, published in national and foreign journals. For the monograph 'Pravni izzivi skrbništva' (Legal Challenges of Guardianship), she received the award from the Ministry responsible for family affairs in 2022.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: suzana.kraljic@um.si

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Published

July 20, 2026

How to Cite

Kraljić, S. (2026). Safeguarding Children’s Rights in Sport: From Legal Standards to Everyday Practice. In S. Kraljić & C. M. Mensah (Eds.), Sports and Law: Finding a Balance Between the Game and the Rules (pp. 35-56). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.pf.1.2026.2