Cover -- Half-title -- Series-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Table of cases -- Table of statutes -- Table of statutory instruments -- Table of international instruments -- Part One Theoretical perspectives and international sources -- Chapter 1 Theoretical perspectives -- (1) Introduction -- (2) Rights awareness and rights scepticism -- (A) Children's liberation -- (B) Children's rights and the parental role -- (C) The dangers of 'rights talk' -- (3) Do children have any rights and, if so, which ones? -- (A) Children as rightsolders -- (B) What rights do children have? -- (C) International human rights -- (D) Children's rights and the role of paternalism -- (i) Children's 'autonomy' and the role of paternalism -- (ii) Welfare 'versus' rights - restraining paternalism? -- (iii) Adolescents and paternalism -- (4) Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Chapter 2 International children's rights -- (1) Introduction -- (2) Rights theories and international human rights -- (3) The United Nations and the aftermath of the Second World War -- (4) The United Nations and children's rights -- (5) The Convention on the Rights of the Child -- (A) A broad spectrum of rights -- (B) Classifying the Convention rights -- (C) Internal inconsistencies -- (D) Success or failure? -- (E) The reporting mechanism and the United Kingdom -- (F) More effective enforcement procedures -- (i) Incorporation into domestic law? -- (ii) An effective Children's Commissioner? -- (iii) An individual right of petition? -- (G) The practical influence of the CRC -- (6) The European Convention on Human Rights -- (A) The post-ar background -- (B) Incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law -- (C) The role of the European Court of Human Rights and children's claims.

(D) The European Convention on Human Rights and its interpretation - strengths and weaknesses for children -- (i) Offsetting the Convention's narrow focus -- (ii) Positive obligations -- (iii) Articulating children's claims? -- (a) Differing approaches -- (b) State interference -- (c) Parental disputes -- (d) Children's own applications -- (iv) No 'welfare or best interests' formula -- (7) The Council of Europe and children's rights -- (8) Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Part Two Promoting consultation and decision-making -- Chapter 3 Adolescent autonomy and parents -- (1) Introduction -- (2) Child and adolescent developmental capacity for decision-making - the research evidence -- (3) Child and adolescent capacity for decision-making - liberalising the law on minority status? -- (4) Adolescents and parents - legal boundaries? -- (A) Legislative persuasion -- (B) Lessons from Gillick -- (C) Gillick and the HRA 1998 -- (5) Adolescents' right to refuse and parents' to agree -- (6) Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Chapter 4 Leaving home, rights to support and emancipation -- (1) Introduction -- (2) Legal age limits -- (A) Under 16 - supplementing pocket money? -- (B) Over 16 and under 18 -- (C) Liberalising the law for 16-18-earlds? -- (3) Legal rights to leave home -- (A) Can parents stop young people leaving? -- (B) Can parents force a child or young person to return home? -- (i) Under 16s -- (ii) Over 16s -- (4) Leaving home - state assistance with financial support -- (5) Leaving home - assistance with housing -- (A) Homelessness provision -- (B) Care leavers -- (C) Specialised accommodation -- (6) Children 'divorcing' their parents -- (A) The child applicant -- (B) Applying for court leave -- (C) Effect of a residence order obtained on a child's application -- (7) Children's right to parental money -- (8) Conclusion -- Bibliography.

Chapter 5 Adolescent decision-making and health care -- Introduction -- Section A Adolescent decision-making - the general principles -- (1) Adolescents' legal right to consent to medical treatment -- (A) Legal competence to consent - adolescents under 16 -- (B) Legal competence to consent - adolescents over 16 -- (2) Adolescents' legal rights to refuse medical treatment -- (A) Legal competence to refuse life-aving treatment -- (B) Overriding an adolescent's refusal to be treated -- (C) Time for reassessment? -- Section B Adolescent decision-making - the difficult cases -- (1) The control of fertility -- (A) Contraception -- (B) Abortion -- (C) Confidentiality -- (2) Treatment for mentally impaired adolescents -- (A) The background -- (B) The mental health legislation -- (C) Parental authorisation for admission and treatment -- (i) Informal admission as a 'voluntary' patient -- (ii) Treatment -- (D) The courts - gaining authority for admission and/or treatment -- (i) The inherent jurisdiction - compulsory admission and treatment -- (ii) Admission and restraint by secure accommodation orders -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Chapter 6 Promoting consultation and decision-making in schools -- (1) Introduction -- (2) A right to education -- (3) School attendance -- (A) The merits of compulsory school -- (B) Tackling truancy -- (i) Criminal sanctions -- (ii) Civil remedies -- (iii) Non-legal strategies -- (4) Pupils and school discipline -- (A) Schools' powers and duties -- (i) The background -- (ii) Bullying in schools -- (iii) Partnership with parents -- (iv) Sanctions -- (B) Exclusions -- (i) The background -- (ii) Prevention -- (iii) Grounds for permanent exclusion -- (iv) Procedural fairness in permanent exclusion -- (v) The appeal decision -- (vi) The impact of exclusion -- (5) School administration -- (6) Sex education in schools -- (7) Conclusion.

Bibliography -- Chapter 7 Children's involvement in family proceedings - rights to representation -- (1) Introduction -- (2) The requirements of international instruments -- (3) Children whose parents split up -- (A) The right to consultation -- (B) Support for children on separation and divorce -- (i) Parental support? -- (ii) Mediation -- (iii) Support from Cafcass? -- (4) Children's involvement in family proceedings -- (A) The background -- (B) Private law proceedings -- (i) An arbitrary system -- (ii) 'In court-conciliated children' -- (iii) Identifying domestic violence? -- (iv) The welfare reporting process -- (v) Separate representation -- (a) The procedural context -- (b) No automatic separate representation -- (c) Separate representation for some? -- (d) Separate representation in international abduction cases? -- (vi) Children instructing their own solicitors under rule 9.2A of the Family Proceedings Rules 1991 -- (a) The background -- (b) Competence of children to instruct their own solicitors -- (vii) Is private law litigation bad for children? -- (C) Public law proceedings -- (i) 'The tandem system of representation' -- (ii) Children's involvement in public law proceedings -- (iii) Children instructing their own solicitors in public law proceedings -- (a) Competence to instruct a solicitor -- (b) The child's 'right' to instruct a solicitor -- (c) A good quality system of representation? -- (D) Children seeing the judge in private -- (5) Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Chapter 8 Children in court - their welfare, wishes and feelings -- (1) Introduction -- (2) The welfare principle - a reassessment -- (3) The interplay between welfare, wishes and feelings and age -- (A) Introduction -- (B) Age and its interrelationship with context and risk -- (4) A child's views - some problem areas -- (A) Abducted children.

(B) Children's hostility to the non-esident parent -- (i) Fear of domestic violence -- (ii) Indoctrinated children -- (C) Abused children -- (5) Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Part Three Children's rights and parents' powers -- Chapter 9 Children's rights versus family privacy - physical punishment and financial support -- (1) Introduction -- (2) Family privacy and the role of the law -- (3) The child's right to care and control, the parents' right to discipline the child -- (A) Introduction -- (B) The current law -- (C) Physical punishment - the historical background -- (D) Pressure for further reform -- (4) Parental duty to support the child -- (A) The state's role of non-intervention -- (i) Parents' primary role -- (ii) The battle against child poverty -- (iii) 'Working for children'? -- (B) The private maintenance obligation and the role of the state -- (i) Privatising child support - the state's withdrawal -- (ii) The child support debacle - round 1 -- (iii) The child support debacle - round 2 -- (iv) Children's rights in reverse - round 3 -- (C) The private maintenance obligation and the role of the courts -- (5) Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Chapter 10 Parents' decisions and children's health rights -- (1) Introduction -- (2) General principles -- (A) Children's healthcare -- (B) Principles of common law -- (C) A rightsased approach? -- (D) Legal competence to consent and the right to be consulted -- (3) A child's right to life: withholding or withdrawing treatment from desperately ill children -- (A) The doctor/parent balance -- (B) Treatment for newborn babies -- (C) Treatment for infants -- (D) Best interests determination -- (E) Can parents deny children the right to life? -- (i) Attitudes to disability -- (ii) A child's right to life and parents' objections to life-aving treatment -- (4) Caring for a child's health.

(A) Decisions about general healthcare.