Peebles v MacPhail 1989 S.C.C.R. 410
Citation: Peebles v MacPhail 1989 S.C.C.R. 410
Link to case on WorldLII (reference).
Rule of thumb: Are parents allowed to smack their children? At common law, yes, to a reasonable degree, but not on the face or the head, and not to the extent that it would knock them to the ground.
Judgment:
- “to slap a child of two years old on the face, knocking him over, is an act as remote from reasonable chastisement as one could possibly imagine. There is, for example, considerable authority that striking a child on the head will be deemed unacceptable, irrespective of whether physical harm results, due to the inherently dangerous nature of the act:”. Lord Justice General
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.