Abstract
The United Kingdom (UK) comprises Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland. There are three legal jurisdictions, with England and Wales currently sharing jurisdiction. Current moves towards increasing devolution render the legal landscape complex but provide an opportunity to compare the varying commitment of the UK’s constituent nations to implementation of the UNCRC. After an explanation of the definition of a ‘child’ in UK law and of the way in which the ‘best interests’ of the child relate to the ‘welfare principle’ underpinning UK family law, the key issues raised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in its Concluding Observations in 2008 are set out, followed by commentary on significant developments since that date, including the UK Government’s Fifth Periodic Report (2014), and consideration of specific issues regarding family law relations. Analysis leads to the conclusion that the current status of children’s rights in the UK reflects the remnants of a paternalistic culture and an ambivalent commitment to the concept of children as rights holders. Despite evidence of prioritisation of children at policy level within the devolved administrations, policies are regarded by some as more often concerned with children’s welfare than their autonomy rights, and practice has struggled to match rhetoric in the current economic climate. Central Government has been predominantly concerned with fiscal considerations since taking power in 2010. Consequently, to date, the UK has not demonstrated a commitment to children’s rights commensurate with its economic standing.
The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Dr Julie Doughty, Cardiff University; Professor Kathryn Hollingsworth, Newcastle University; Professor Laura Lundy, Queen’s University Belfast; Dr Claire McDiarmid, University of Strathclyde; and Paola Uccellari, Director of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) through feedback on earlier drafts. Any mistakes are entirely the author’s own.
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Notes
- 1.
Paton v British Pregnancy Advisory Service Trustees [1979] QB 276.
- 2.
ZH (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] UKSC 4.
- 3.
AZ v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government[2012] EWHC 3660 (Admin) and Stevens v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2013] EWHC 792 (Admin).
- 4.
R (MP) v Secretary of State for Justice[2012] EWHC 214 (Admin).
- 5.
R (on the application of HC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department ([2013] EWHC 982 (Admin)), initiated by Just 4 Kids Law.
- 6.
A v L (Contact) [1988] 1 FLR 361.
- 7.
A v United Kingdom (1998) 27 EHRR 611.
- 8.
Re P (Terminating Parental Responsibility) [1995] 1 FLR 1048.
- 9.
CW v SG[2013] EWHC 854 (Fam).
- 10.
[1986] AC 112.
- 11.
See, for example, South Glamorgan County Council v W & B [1993] 1 FLR 574.
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Driscoll, J. (2016). The Rights of the Child: United Kingdom National Report. In: Cvejić Jančić, O. (eds) The Rights of the Child in a Changing World. Ius Comparatum - Global Studies in Comparative Law, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23189-1_19
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