The law governing children’s rights is part of international human rights law and therefore plays an important role in the protection of human rights. However, the effectiveness of the protection of children’s rights depends on a State’s compliance with children’s rights instruments and the implementation mechanisms within a given State. There are implementation mechanisms for the protection of children’s rights at the national, regional and international levels. The protection of children’s rights at these three levels is provided for by children’s rights instruments. The monitoring of particular implementation mechanisms with regard to children’s rights is effected by reporting processes through State Parties to domestic institutions, regional, and international organisations. The reports provided by States Parties must contain relevant information with regard to measures that States Parties have taken to implement children’s rights instruments. Inadequate implementation mechanisms for the protection of children’s rights have emerged as the greatest threat to the realisation of children’s rights. This means that the adoption of children’s rights instruments may yield results only when effective implementation steps are taken by the respective States Parties. There are four “cornerstone” principles that underpin the protection of children’s rights.1 These are: non-discrimination; the best interest of the child; the right to life, survival and development; and respect for the views of the child.2 This study will evaluate the right to education and the best interests of the child principle as covered in children’s rights instruments at regional and international levels.Education is a powerful tool in ensuring the protection and enjoyment of children’s rights. Therefore, ineffective implementation of the right to education may have adverse consequences for society. The best interest of the child principle is the guiding principle in all matters concerning children’s rights.3 Therefore, the application and effectiveness of the best interests of the child principle will ensure adequate protection of children’s rights. Further, the study will examine the right to education and the best interest of the child in order to demonstrate how the United Nations (UN) and regional human rights instruments have provided for their implementation. Ratification of children’s rights instruments is a symbolic gesture on the part of States Parties to the recognition and significance of protection of children’s rights. The compliance with children rights instruments or treaty obligations is crucial to ensure adequate protection of children’s rights. Thus, non-compliance with treaty obligations will have a negative impact on the protection of children’s rights. The evaluation of the right to education and the best interests of the child principle will be undertaken against the backdrop of children’s rights instruments. The children’s rights instruments are provided for by the United Nations (UN) and regional human rights systems. The dissertation will evaluate the right to education and the best interests of the child principle within three regional systems, namely, the European Union (EU), the Organisation of American States (OAS), and the African Union (AU). It will also examine pertinent case law within the three regional systems. Finally, the efficacy of implementation mechanisms for the enforcement of children’s rights will be assessed. / Public, Constitutional, and International Law / LLM

Although a child's right to parental care and family life is constitutionally entrenched, many South African children are deprived of this right. Transcultural adoption could serve their need but historically this has been prohibited or discouraged by racist policies. Whether this is in keeping with the now non-racial South African society is questionable. In adoption the best interests of the child is paramount and in determining this, courts should balance children's constitutional rights to their culture of origin against their constitutional rights to non-discrimination. After considering arguments for and against transcultural adoption and the position in the United States and the United Kingdom, the writer suggests that further interdisciplinary research into the question is necessary in South Africa; inter-country adoption should be considered and law reform and governmental policy should facilitate these. / Private Law / LL. M. (Law)

Le rapport traditionnel entre responsabilité pénale et secret sacramentel a laissé place à un nouveau rapport controversé. La modernisation, la laïcisation des sociétés, la nécessité d’adapter la justice au besoin grandissant de la société en sécurité, les implications de membres du clergé dans les scandales de pédophilie, le silence longtemps gardé par l’Église sur ces implications et sa gestion à l’interne de ces scandales et enfin le pluralisme et l’intégrisme religieux sont autant de facteurs qui ont contribué à changer le discours du droit étatique sur le secret sacramentel. Autrefois la divulgation du secret sacramentel était sujette à la poursuite en justice. Aujourd’hui, c’est plutôt la rétention de l’information criminelle qui est susceptible d’engager la responsabilité pénale du confesseur. Ce nouveau rapport qui s’est établi entre la responsabilité pénale et le secret sacramentel ne s’accorde pas au discours de l’Église catholique pour qui le secret sacramentel doit demeurer un droit absolu, passible d’excommunication en cas de violation. Le conflit est évident et la recherche de solution impérieuse. Comment résoudre l’énigme du secret sacramentel dans une société à double vitesse qui cherche à concilier transparence absolue et dignité humaine : la première appelant à la divulgation de l’information au détriment de la dignité humaine et la seconde, sa rétention, au préjudice de la sécurité du citoyen? Le cas des agressions sexuelles commises sur mineurs est celui qui, actuellement, alarme au plus haut point la société. Cette problématique du secret sacramentel aux prises avec les nouvelles exigences légales de dénonciation est commune à plusieurs aires géographiques, mais les approches de solutions ne sont pas pareilles. La recherche d’un rapport plus conciliant entre ledit secret et la responsabilité pénale pourrait passer par la comparaison de plusieurs droits positifs. Le modèle de droit français paraît moins attentatoire au droit à la liberté de religion du pénitent et du prêtre catholique en l’occurrence. Et c’est à la lumière de celui-ci que nous proposons une réforme du modèle québécois dont le droit à la protection de la jeunesse pénalise le secret sacramentel. C’est sur les théories de « gouvernance conjointe » dont l’accommodement transformatif est le corollaire, de « relevance juridique » et de pluralisme de « coopération » développées respectivement par Ayelet Shachar, Santi Romano et Mireille Delmas-Marty, que s’appuie cette thèse pour modéliser une nouvelle relation entre le droit positif québécois et le droit canonique au sujet de ce qui les oppose. Il est un impératif pour l’Église de préserver la confiance des pénitents qui se présentent au sacrement de pénitence pour éviter de faire du confesseur un agent pénal ou un délateur. Mais la sécurité des enfants au sein des communautés ecclésiales et leur confiance en une Église qui les protège et les défend en est aussi un. L’aggiornamento juridique en cours dans l’Église et qui s’appuie sur une sauvegarde du droit du délinquant, une préservation du droit de l’Église à son identité, mais aussi et surtout sur un renforcement du droit de la victime, est une contribution substantielle de l’Église à la répression et à la lutte contre l’abus sexuel des enfants et constitue une preuve de sa bonne foi. / The traditional relationship between criminal responsibility and sacramental secrecy has given way to a controversial new report. Modernization, the secularization of societies, the need to adapt justice to the growing need of society in security, the implications of members of the clergy in pedophilia scandals, the Church's long silence on these implications and its internal management of these scandals, and finally religious pluralism and religious fundamentalism have all contributed to changing the discourse of state law on Sacramental secret. Formerly the disclosure of sacramental secrecy was subject to prosecution. Today, it is rather the retention of criminal information which is liable to incur the criminal responsibility of the confessor. This new relationship between penal responsibility and sacramental secrecy does not agree with the language of the Catholic Church, for whom sacramental secrecy must remain an absolute right subject to excommunication in case of violation. The controversy is obvious and the search for a compelling solution is imperious. How to solve the enigma of sacramental secrecy in a two-speed society that seeks to conciliate absolute transparency and human dignity: the first calling for the disclosure of information to the detriment of human dignity and the second, retention, to the detriment of the safety of the citizen. The case of sexual assaults committed against minors is the one that, currently, alarm society at the highest level. This issue of sacramental secrecy facing the new legal requirements of denunciation is common to several geographical areas, but the approaches of solutions are not the same. The search for a more conciliatory relationship between the secrecy and criminal responsibility could go through the comparison of several positive rights. The model of French law appears to be less intrusive to the right to freedom of religion of the penitent and the Catholic priest in this case. And it is in light of this law that we propose a reform of the Quebec model whose right to the protection of youth penalizes the sacramental secrecy. It is on the theories of "joint governance" whose transformative accommodation is the corollary, of "legal relevance" and pluralism of cooperation respectively developed by Ayelet Shachar, Santi Romano and Mireille Delmas-Marty, that this thesis is based on modeling a new relationship between the positive law of Quebec and canon law about what is opposed to them. It is an imperative for the Church to preserve the confidence of the penitents who present themselves to the sacrament of penance in order to avoid making the confessor a criminal agent or an informer. But the safety of children in ecclesial communities and their confidence in a Church that protects and defends them is also one. The legal aggiornamento in the Church, based on a safeguarding of the right of the offender, preservation of the right of the Church to its identity, but also and above all on strengthening the right of the victim, is a substantial contribution of the Church to the repression and the fight against the sexual abuse of children and constitutes proof of its good faith.

Since their creation in Europe in the seventeenth century, pension funds have grown to become one of the main sources of capital in the world. A number of role players ultimately manage the pension money of members on their behalf. Accordingly, the focus of this study is on the role players involved in the actual investment of pension fund money. For the purposes of the study, the key role players in the pension fund investment chain are identified as pension fund trustees, asset managers and asset consultants. These role players have a specific responsibility in terms of the service that they ought to provide. One of the key aspects of this dissertation is therefore determining whether their responsibility is a fiduciary responsibility. The main purpose of the study is, however, to answer one overarching research question: Does fiduciary responsibility create barriers to the implementation of responsible investment in the South African pension fund investment chain? Clearly, there are two key terms in this research question, fiduciary responsibility and responsible investment. It is suggested that responsible investment takes at least two forms: a “business case” form1 in which environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are considered only in so far as they are financially material; and a social form in which ESG issues are considered over maximising risk adjusted financial returns. Three key questions were asked in order to find qualitative descriptions and interpretations of fiduciary responsibility: Question 1: Are the key role players in the pension fund investment chain fiduciaries? Question 2: If so, to whom do the key role players owe their fiduciary duty? Question 3: What are the fiduciary duties of the key role players in the pension fund investment chain? It is also suggested that the duty to act in the best interests of beneficiaries could be described as the all-encompassing fiduciary duty. Two main interpretations of the / Private Law / LL.M.

In cases where children and youths are in need of support from various activities in order to have their needs met, authorities shall collaborate towards the common goal: the child’s best interests. The concept lacks an unambiguous definition and professionals should make decisions adjusted to the child’s individual needs. Within the Mobile team, which is an interprofessional form of collaboration between the school and social services, the different professional groups could be characterized by different perspectives. This may lead to different interpretations which can pose a challenge to agree on a joint decision for the child’s best interests. The study is based on a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with six professionals within a mobile team. The theories used to analyze the empirical material is collaboration theory and theory about discretion in decision making. Several noteworthy results were find. The mobile team work early and preventive both generally and with more concrete interventions for the child’s best interests. The work within collaboration can be divided into resourse-, information- and knowledge exchange which creates the opportunity to get at better overall picture of the child. Further, to work for the child’s best interests the mobile team focuses on school, spare time and family, as different areas that are important for the child. Their approach is also characterized by understanding and supporting individual needs. Finally, there are factors that need to be considered to fulfil a successful collaboration. For example, the professionals must be aware of each other’s duties, roles, activities and regulatory systems.

The purpose of this thesis was to achieve a deeper knowledge of the dilemma whichcan arise during a social welfare workers judgement of a reunion according to whatis best for the child in relation to a child’s right to their biological parents. Thisbachelor thesis was based on three research questions: What influences a socialwelfare workers judgement of a reunion according to what is best for the child, aswell as children’s right to their biological parents? How does a social welfare workerperceive its leeway during a judgement concerning reunion family reunion? How doesa social welfare worker perceive their authority to interpret according to their leeway?A qualitative study has been used to gain a deeper knowledge according to a socialwelfare workers experience. A hermeneutic approach has been used to answer thepurpose of our bachelor thesis and has contributed to a wider perspective of our study.The focus was to understand the dilemma through evaluating and interpretation. Sixsocial welfare workers participated in the following vignette survey, which werecomplemented with semi-structured questions. The participants have answeredregarding their experience concerning their leeway and authority to interpret the lawaccording to what is best for the child and their entitlement to their biological parents.This bachelor thesis research results show that social welfare workers did possessleeway which implies empowerment to interpret legislation, concepts and varioussituations. This can be seen as a prerequisite for correct decisions to be made duringdaily work. Although, it can also act as a risk since clients may receive differentconclusions depending on the social welfare worker. Furthermore, a conclusion of thethesis is that different judgements are made, even though the contributed informationwas identical. The explanation to these different assessments may relate to the socialwelfare workers leeway and authority to interpret the law, which makes investigatingchildren’s right to their parents and what is best for them even more complex.

Based on society's established norms, girls and boys are expected to behave differently. Certain behaviours are also differently accepted due to gender. This makes it possible to question if the principle of the best interests of the child in cases regarding The Compulsory Care of Young Persons Act (1990:52) (LVU), applies in the gender-neutral way that it's intended to do. To answer this, we have collected data through “collection of materials''. More specifically, we have used cases from a sample of administrative courts and courts of appeals which all deal with 3§ LVU. The data has been analysed through the method “qualitative content analysis” in which different patterns could be read out. The main conclusion of our study is that girls tend to be judged more harshly than boys. The courts assessments in girl cases/judgments includes factors that in boys cases/judgments goes unnoticed, like factors related to mental illness and self-harm. Another conclusion is that the principle creates space for many different interpretations which includes gender norms upon application of the 3§ LVU. When the principle is gender neutral, like it's intended to do, a discrimination because of sex can be hidden.

Följande studie är en kvalitativ dokumentstudie vars syfte är att genom en diskursanalys utifrån Ernesto Laclau och Chantal Mouffe’s (2001; 2008) diskursteori utforska på vilket sätt barnet, dess delaktighet och dess bästa framställs i tingsrätten. Studien har undersökt detta i domar från tingsrätten gällande umgänge med umgängesstöd enligt 6 kap. §15c föräldrabalken (FB) (SFS 1949:381). De juridiska ramar gällande barnet, som finns i föräldrabalken och barnkonventionen (Lag [SFS 2018:1197] om Förenta nationernas konvention om barnets rättigheter), tyder på att barnet besitter en stark ställning gentemot vuxna, men forskning visar på att barn sällan får möjlighet att delta och sällan får sin vilja hörd. Studiens empiriska material består av 21 domar gällande umgänge med umgängesstöd från tingsrätten. Studien har utgångspunkt i socialkonstruktionismen och för att fördjupa analysen och för att bidra till diskussionen har inslag av barndomssociologiska perspektiv samt Roger Harts delaktighetsstege (1992) tillämpats. Laclau och Mouffe presenterar i sin diskursanalys flertalet centrala begrepp, men vi har fokuserat på begreppen diskurs, flytande signifikanter och subjektspositioner som är av störst relevans utifrån studiens syfte och frågeställningar. De diskurser om barnet som identifierats i materialet är; den familjeorienterade, skyddsorienterade och rättighetsorienterade diskursen. De flytande signifikanter som urskilts är; barnets bästa, umgängesstöd och barnets mognad. Till sist, de subjektspositioner vi ser att barnet placeras i är; rättighetsbäraren och skyddsobjektet. Studien visar på att det är långt ifrån självklart hur barnets bästa ska bedömas i tingsrättens domar samt att möjligheterna till delaktighet för barn är begränsade av olika faktorer så som påverkan av vuxna samt barnets mognad och ålder. Hur barnet framställs är inte heller givet då det är något som är beroende av barnets subjektsposition som i sin tur påverkas av vilken diskurs som råder. Studiens resultat lämnar oss undrande om insatsen ”umgänge med umgängesstöd” i själva verket beviljas för barnen, eller om den beviljas utifrån föräldrarnas bästa. / The following study is a qualitative document study whose purpose is to explore the way in which the child, its participation and its best interests are presented in the district court through a discourse analysis based on Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe's discourse theory (2001; 2008). The study has examined judgments from the district court regarding supervised visitation according to Chapter 6 §15c Children and Parents Code (FB) (SFS 1949:381). The legal framework regarding the child, presented in the Children and Parents Code and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Law [SFS 2018:1197] on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child), indicates that the child possesses a strong position in relation to adults, but research shows that children rarely get the opportunity to participate and rarely get their will heard. The study's empirical material consists of 21 judgments regarding supported visitation from the district court. These have been analyzed with the help of a discourse analysis to examine how the district court portrays the child, their participation, and the best interest of the child. The study is based on a social constructionist theory. To deepen the analysis the study has also used sociological perspectives on children and childhood and Roger Hart's ladder of participation (1992) to contribute to the discussion. Laclau and Mouffe present in their discourse analysis several central concepts, but the following study has used the concepts that are the most relevant based on the studies’ aim and research questions. The discourses about the child that have been identified in the material are the family-oriented, protection-oriented, and rights-oriented discourse. The floating signifiers determined are the best interests of the child, supported visitation and the child's maturity. And finally, the subject positions we see the child placed in are the rights-holder and the object of protection. The study shows that it is far from obvious how the best interests of the child should be assessed in the district court's judgments and that the opportunities for participation for children are limited by several different factors such as influence from adults and the children’s maturity and age. How the child is portrayed is also not given as it is something that is dependent on the child's subject position, which in turn is affected by the prevailing discourse. Based on the results of the study we ask ourselves if the intervention “supervised visitation” is granted for the children, or if it is granted based on the parents' rights and needs.

Disputes concerning care and contact arrangements for the minor children of divorcing couples present special challenges for professionals in the legal and psychological professions. Care and contact (custody) disputes, which are complex undertakings, are a point of debate in the professional arena in South Africa. Clinical psychologists are often included in the professional cohort that assists the high court, as the upper guardian of minor children, in the decision making process regarding contested care arrangements of children. This field is further challenged by the lack of training programmes and practice guidelines, the intense adversarial nature of disputes and litigation processes, as well as the increase in board complaints levelled against psychologists at the Health Professions Council of South Africa. These challenges contribute to the reluctance of psychologists to become involved in care and contact matters. This study therefore aimed first to explore the current practices and contributions of clinical psychologists in care and contact disputes in South Africa, and second to evaluate the procedures used by clinical psychologists to inform their recommendations to the court. In such matters, clinical psychologists adhere to the best interest of the child (BIC) principle. The final aim of the study was to identify and propose guidelines for a model of better practice. The study was guided by a Constructivist Epistemology and a Social Constructionist paradigmatic framework. A qualitative research approach was employed. Data were collected through face- to-face interviews with clinical psychologists and advocates and were analysed using Thematic Network Analysis of Attride-Stirling. The findings, which indicated that that the practices of psychologists are plenteous, revealed significant shortfalls in current practices. In addition, the findings designated that creating a universal model for care and contact evaluations to fit with the legal professions’ empiricist tendency poses a paradigmatic dilemma and a practical challenge. A position of observer-dependence and a reflective position on the part of the psychologist is instead indicated. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

With the increase in unaccompanied children in 2015, it has become common to discuss the legal status of unaccompanied children. By the Swedish law persons under the age of 18 are considered to be minors and therefore have no ability to make decisions in personal matters with legally binding effects. A childs case does not always require the same seriousness as adult cases to be able to obtain a residence permit. This leads to at different asylum process for unaccompanied children who lack guardians upon arriving to Sweden. Various assessments are made for unaccompanied children that adults do not need to undergo for a residence permit. Through the legal dogmatic method, an analysis and report has been made in relation to the EU law, current Swedish laws and international commitments that affect unaccompanied childrens rights within Swedish legislation. The courts way of assessing grounds for protection, as well as how these are tried has been analyzed. The concept of unaccompanied children has been defined, but the focus on their rights in Sweden has also been reported. / I samband med ökningen av ensamkommande barn under år 2015 har det blivit ofta förekommande att diskutera ensamkommande barns rättsliga ställning. Personer som är under 18 år betraktas enligt svensk rätt som omyndiga och har därför ingen förmåga att med rättslig bindande verkan fatta beslut i personliga angelägenheter. Ett barns ärende behöver inte alltid ha samma allvar och tyngd som krävs för att vuxna personer ska kunna få uppehållstillstånd vilket leder till en annorlunda asylprocess för ensamkommande barn som saknad vårdnadshavare vid ankomsten till Sverige. Det görs olika bedömningar för ensamkommande barn som vuxna inte behöver genomgå för uppehållstillstånd. Genom den rättsdogmatiska metoden har det gjorts en analys och redogörelse i relation till EU-rätten, gällande svenska lagar och internationella åtaganden som påverkar ensamkommande barns rättigheter inom den svenska lagstiftningen. Domstolarnas sätt att bedöma skyddsgrunder samt hur dessa prövas inför domstolar har bedömts och analyserats. Begreppet ensamkommande barn har definierats men även fokus på deras rättigheter i Sverige har redogjorts.