Adoption and right to respect for family life

The International Journal of Children's Rights, 2020

This paper examines what set of familial circumstances allow for the justifiable interference with the right to respect for family life under Article 8, echr. We analyse all the Courts' judgments on adoptions from care to find out what the Court means by a "family unit" and the "child´s best interest". Our analysis show that the status and respect of the child's de facto family life is changing. This resonates with a view that children do not only have formal rights, but that they are recognised as individuals The International Journal of Children's Rights (2020) 1-33

The International Journal of Children’s Rights

By utilising theories of deliberation and rational argumentation, this article critically analyses the Norwegian Supreme Court’s best interest decisions in four judgments on adoption from care. How does the Supreme Court reason their decisions and are the decisions rational? The findings show that the decisions are reasoned similarly, and conclusions are guided by norms of biology, vulnerability and stability for the child. However, discretion is applied differently across decisions, and the reasoning and balancing of individual arguments vary. The critical evaluation displays weaknesses in all judgments: one important blind spot is the failure to include the child’s views in the decision-making process. The development in terms of delivering rational, well-reasoned and thorough judgments is nonetheless positive. Furthermore, the Supreme Court’s recognition and protection of the child’s de facto family situation correspond to observed developments in the European Court of Human Righ...

The International Journal of Children's Rights, 2002

Scandinavian Studies in Law, 2007

2021

This advisory note aims at responding to (the first two questions of) the Call for input sent out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in the context of its prospective report “The rights of the child and family reunification”. Due to the limited scale of this note, we will focus on some key issues faced by TCN unaccompanied minors and separated children in Europe, without attempting to be exhaustive. The discussed preoccupations are mainly related (but not limited) to family reunification procedures. A first chapter discusses the principal preoccupations arising in the light of the right to family life (including issues related to (exercising) the limited right to family reunification, the child’s identity, the right to be heard, etc.). A second chapter deals with the principal preoccupations in light of the principle of the best interests of the child. Finally, in a third chapter some important recommendations are formulated to address the issues discussed in chapters one and two.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2007

Intersentia xi 3.3.3. Non-formalised relationship Maternity Voluntary establishment of paternity with(out) maternal cooperation Involuntary establishment of paternity Paternity and assisted conception Denial of paternity Post-mortal procreation 3.3.4. Internal comparison Maternity Establishment of paternity Denial of paternity Paternity and assisted conception Post-mortal procreation 3.4. External Comparison: Legal parenthood Maternity Establishment of paternity Denial/rebuttal of paternity Paternity and assisted conception Post-mortal procreation An English case under Dutch law and vice versa Some concluding remarks 3.5. England: Parental responsibility 3.5.1. Marriage Attribution Termination and relationship breakdown 3.5.2. Non-formalised relationship Attribution to mother Attribution to father with maternal cooperation Attribution to father without maternal cooperation Attribution to father who is not a legal parent Termination and relationship breakdown 3.5.3. Internal comparison Attribution to mother Attribution to father Termination and relationship breakdown Concluding remarks Machteld Vonk, 'Children and their parents' Table of contents xii Intersentia 3.6. The Netherlands: Parental responsibility 3.6.1. Marriage Attribution Termination and relationship breakdown 3.6.2. Non-marital registered relationship Attribution Termination and relationship breakdown 3.6.3. Non-formalised relationship Attribution to mother Attribution to father with maternal cooperation Attribution to father without maternal cooperation Attribution to father who is not a legal parent Termination and relationship breakdown 3.6.4. Internal comparison Attribution to mother Attribution to father Termination Some concluding remarks 3.7. External Comparison: Parental responsibility Attribution to mother Attribution to father with maternal cooperation Attribution to father withouot maternal cooperation Attribution to father who is not a legal parent Termination and relationship breakdown Some concluding remarks 3.8. Children and their legal position vis-à-vis their parents 3.8.1. Legal parenthood 3.8.2. Parental responsibility PART III: ATYPICAL FAMILES Chapter 4. Partially genetic secondary families 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Tendencies 4.3. Legal parenthood 4.3.1. Re-registration or recognition by the new parent Machteld Vonk, 'Children and their parents' Table of contents Intersentia xiii 4.3.2. Adoption by the new parent 4.3.2.1. Adoption: consent of the parent outside the secondary family A. The other parent has parental responsibility B. The other parent is a biological and/or legal parent but has no parental responsibility C. The child has a biological parent who is not a legal parent D. The child has a social parent with parental responsibility 4.3.2.2. Adoption: other requirements Stability in the relationship Living with the child Consent of the child to the adoption Age of the adopter and the adoptee 4.3.3. Overall view on the new parent and legal parenthood 4.4. Parental responsibility 4.4.1. The new parent has become a legal parent 4.4.1.1. Through recognition of re-registration 4.4.1.2. Through adoption 4.4.2. The new parent has not become a legal parent 4.4.3. Some problems highlighted 4.4.4. Overall view on parental responsibility Chapter 5.

TCD Law Review, 2016

This article considers the extent to which foster children in Ireland are afforded a voice during their care placement proceedings. In particular, it will examine Ireland’s obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, with specific regard to Article 12 which provides that all children have the right to be heard in matters relating to them. The relevant legislation governing children in foster care, the Child Care Act 1991, will be examined along with the Child Care (Placement of Children in Foster Care) Regulations 1995. This article will argue that the current law and policy in Ireland falls short of protecting the child’s voice in care placement proceedings, and therefore is incompatible with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Scots Law Times, 2008

Law and Gender in Modern Ireland: Critique and Reform, 2019