15. Children’s Participation in Family Proceedings

2021 ◽  
pp. 539-569
Author(s):  
N V Lowe ◽  
G Douglas ◽  
E Hitchings ◽  
R Taylor
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Direct Participation ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
Children's Participation

This chapter considers the increasingly important question of children’s participation in proceedings concerning them. It evaluates children’s right to participate in proceedings both as a matter of domestic and international law. It then assesses the complex law as to how children’s views are ascertained and the circumstances in which children will be represented both in private and public law. It then turns to children’s direct participation in family proceedings including children’s ability to initiate proceedings.

The Boundaries of Comparative Law

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Mark Tushnet
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Comparative Law ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Political Dimensions ◽  
Domestic Law ◽  
National Styles

Boundaries: between public and private law – Political dimensions of private and public law – Boundaries between domestic law and transnational and international law – Boundaries between law and other disciplines, including economics, comparative politics, normative political theory, and hermeneutic disciplines – National styles of comparative law scholarship – Analytic and pragmatic traditions in comparative law scholarship

scholarly journals Management and Governance Accountability to Children: Participation and Representation in Organisational Decision Making

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 197-226
Author(s):  
Claire O'Kane ◽  
Annabel Trapp ◽  
Paul Stephenson ◽  
Julia Smith-Brake
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Young People ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Enabling Factors ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Child Participation ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
Children's Participation

Children’s participation and accountability to children are increasingly common aspirations of child-focused organisations; development agencies and research institutions frequently use young people’s advisory councils as one path to participation. A key challenge is to not only find meaningful ways to institutionalise children’s views as part of organisational decision making, but also to identify and address barriers to participation. This article presents the findings of a commissioned landscape assessment to identify good practices and lessons learned from child-focused agencies, in order to inform the operationalisation of children’s requests on programme improvements and accountability to children. The study was exploratory and qualitative. It included primary and secondary data collection, including a desk review, key informant interviews with adults and young people, and focus group discussions with young people. The findings showed common elements of organisational models of child participation and insights from children and young people on the types of decisions they want to influence, reasons why they should be heard, and how-to approaches to support their meaningful participation. Other findings focused on key challenges of children’s participation in governance, including adult mindsets, low capacity, and structural restrictions, and lessons learned on enabling factors, such as organisation-wide buy-in, and space and inclusion for children and young people. Further inquiry could inform the purpose, scope, and appropriateness of child participation in governance structures within child-focused organisations.

scholarly journals Child Participation in Russia: Theoretical and Practical Developments

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-87
Author(s):  
T.O. Archakova ◽  
E.S. Garifulina
Keyword(s):  
Applied Research ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Child Participation ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
Different Levels

The article analyzes the development of practice and development of theoretical grounds for child participation in contemporary Russia. Children’s participation is considered as an interdisciplinary field of research, and as the practice of taking into account children’s views at different levels: in everyday life, in family and in local community, in organizations and in self-government bodies. Children are considered as reflective actors: co-authors of research and evaluation of social projects. The analysis uses publications describing the practice and results of researching children’s participation; key legal documents; materials from expert discussions, as well as data on relevant international experience. Data on the views of various stakeholders — specialists, parents, and children themselves — on the issues of child participation are compared and contrasted. The authors conclude that there is no unified system of child participation in Russia, and the most common approaches to its study vary in their methodological groundings. The current situation does not pose serious controversy and threats to the development of children’s participation; it may be favorable for the diversification and competition of approaches to development of child participation practices and their study. Recommendations are given on the themes of further applied research.

Children's Participation and Good Governance: Limitations of the Theoretical Literature

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Hinton
Keyword(s):  
Good Governance ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The North ◽  
Academic Fields ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
The Impact

AbstractChildren are an important stakeholder group; they constitute 34% of the world's citizens and their actions will determine our collective future. The UNCRC created consensus that children's views must be taken seriously. Yet their opinions have failed to inform the allocation of resources used in their name. Their views are rarely sought during scrutiny of government despite their valuable insights on the functioning of public institutions. This paper summarises the debates around children's participation and argues that there has been little dialogue across the academic fields. The long history of children's participation in the South is only starting to inform the new wave of attention to children as active citizens in the North. The paper poses questions as a catalyst for further debate: Why do theoretical frameworks fail children? What is the impact of the process of 'participation'? Are children who lack the networks and social capital being excluded?

scholarly journals Challenging Competency and Capacity?

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-182
Author(s):  
E. Kay M. Tisdall
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Capacity ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Participation Rights ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
Children's Participation

Galvanised by the un Convention on the Rights of the Child, many jurisdictions have introduced or strengthened children’s rights to participate in family law proceedings. Yet, the research and legal literature continues to show difficulties in implementation. According to the literature, decisions makers frequently view children as insufficiently competent or lacking in capacity to participate in proceedings or for much weight to be given to the children’s views. This article unpicks the concepts of competence and capacity, both in relevant literature and reported case law from Scotland. The article asks three questions: What are meant by competence and capacity? How are they used? Do the concepts enhance or detract from children’s participation rights? The article finds that competence is often casually used in the literature, alternative terms are used in reported case law (such as maturity), and judging capacity remains problematic in both law and practice. The article concludes that both concepts detract from children’s participation rights, as the concepts suggest competence and capacity are inherent to the child rather than contextual and relational. If the concepts were to be used, they should be subject to more critique and precise definition. However, children’s participation rights are more likely to be furthered by alternatives, such as fresh ideas about recognising and supporting people’s legal capacity within the un Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

scholarly journals Views of the Child Reports: Hearing Directly from Children Involved in Post-Separation Disputes

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 148-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Birnbaum
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Child Reports ◽  
Children’S Participation ◽  
Family Breakdown ◽  
Participation In Decision Making ◽  
Children’S Views ◽  
Children's Participation ◽  
Research And Policy

Views of the Child reports are being increasingly used in Canada and other countries as a means of directly obtaining the child’s perspective on disputes between their parents and/or guardians. The reports provide information about the child’s perspective based on one or more interviews with a social worker. Yet, little research exists about their use and impact, the benefits and limitations of the approach, and less about what factors need to be considered in establishing practices and protocols to safely advance children’s views before the court. This article draws on the direct experiences of 24 children between the ages of 6–17 years about their views and preferences during family breakdown. The children describe how they wanted to speak to someone about their views and preferences, raised questions about the accuracy of the reporting of their views, the need for protecting their confidentiality by having a say of what is included in the report, and their support for children’s participation in decision-making post-separation. Practice, research and policy considerations are also highlighted in order for children’s participation to be truly meaningful to them, their parents and the courts.

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