Balancing the rights of parents and children: The Children (Scotland) Bill 2019

Barnes Macfarlane, Lesley-Anne

Abstract

The Scottish Government is in the process of updating the Family Justice system. This includes the legislation regulating how family court law cases (i.e. disputes about children between family members)progress through the courts.

In family law court cases, the most important consideration is the best interests/welfare of the child. However, courts must also balance the competing rights of different family members. This can result in tension between the rights of parents and their children in family cases. Sometimes other family members are also involved.

In view of the above, it is important to ensure that existing and proposed Children (Scotland) Bill 2019 is compatible with the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights ('the ECHR') and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ('the UNCRC').

The purpose of this detailed Report is to consider:

a) The balance currently struck between the rights and interests of parents and children in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, now 24 years old.

b) How the balance of rights might change if the Children (Scotland) Bill 2019 becomes law.

Citation

Barnes Macfarlane, L.-A. (2019). Balancing the rights of parents and children: The Children (Scotland) Bill 2019. https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/112969.aspx: Scottish Parliament Justice Committee

• Report Type: Research Report
• Acceptance Date: Nov 4, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Nov 15, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 15, 2019
• Deposit Date: Dec 4, 2019
• Pages: 1-75
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2368324
• Publisher URL: https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/112969.aspx
• Additional Information: As part of its scrutiny of the Children (Scotland) Bill 2019, Justice Committee Members commissioned an external academic to analyse both the current law and the proposed reforms in the Bill from a human rights perspective. That work was undertaken by Dr Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane of Edinburgh Napier University. A copy of her Report (and her Report Summary), Balancing the Rights of Parents and Children, can be found here: https://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/CurrentCommittees/112969.aspx