Esta pesquisa objetivou estudar o princípio do melhor interesse da criança tanto em seu viés teórico quanto prático, na tentativa de se concluir se é possível ou não adotar-se critérios predeterminados para serem seguidos na tomada de decisões em questões envolvendo crianças e adolescentes. Na primeira parte, teórica, estudou-se o conteúdo do melhor interesse, e se poderia ele ser entendido como regra de interpretação, direito fundamental ou princípio. Já a segunda parte, prática, buscou analisar como os tribunais vêm decidindo algumas questões que resvalam no melhor interesse. Para tal, alguns institutos foram selecionados (guarda, adoção, parto anônimo, visitas e educação). A análise da guarda passou pela sua diferenciação entre colocação em família substituta e atribuição a um dos pais em caso de separação. Discutiu-se a possibilidade de atribuição a terceira pessoa e de imposição da modalidade compartilhada. Estudou-se o direito de visitas para o caso de a guarda ter sido atribuída a somente um dos pais. Estendeu-se a pesquisa para a hipótese de garantir-se esse direito a amigos, padrastos, madrastas e padrinhos. A adoção foi estudada nas modalidades à brasileira, intuitu personae e internacional. Ainda, analisou-se a possibilidade de adoção por casal homoafetivo. Embora inexistente no direito brasileiro, o parto anônimo foi analisado para se observar se viável e necessário em nosso ordenamento. Por fim, estudou-se o direito à educação, realçando-se alguns aspectos como a possibilidade de o ensino ser realizado fora de estabelecimentos oficiais, transporte de crianças até suas escolas e a possibilidade de exigirem-se vagas em creches. / This research aimed to study the principle of the best interest of the child, both in theory and in practice, in an attempt to conclude whether it is possible or not to adopt predetermined criteria to be followed in making decisions on issues involving children and adolescents. In the first part, theoretical, the content of the best interest was studied, as well as the possibility of understanding it as a rule of interpretation, fundamental right or principle. The second part, practical, sought to analyze how the courts have been deciding issues involving the best interest. In doing so, some institutes were selected (guardianship, adoption, anonymous childbirth, visits and education). The analysis of the guardianship passed by differentiating between placement in foster family and its assignment to one of the parents in case of separation. The possibility of assigning it to a third person and the imposition of shared custody were discussed. The visitation rights in case when the custody has been awarded to only one parent was studied. The research was extended to the hypothesis of granting this right to friends, stepfathers, stepmothers and godfathers or godmothers. The research studied Brazilian, intuitu personae and international adoptions, as well as the possibility of adoption by homosexual couples. Although non-existing under Brazilian law, the anonymous childbirth was analyzed to observe if it is viable and needed in our system. Finally, the right of education was studied, and aspects such as the possibility of homeschooling, transportation of children to their schools and the requiring of vacancies in childcare facilities were highlighted.

As the divorce rate in the United States remains steady at 50%, the last few decades have shown an increase in child custody disputes. Within these litigations, interparental conflict can reach high levels and incite behaviors that wreak havoc on the children who are caught in the middle. When considering custody arrangements, judges and other evaluators use the Best Interest of the Child Standard (BICS), a jurisdictionally-specific framework that examines several factors that contribute to a child’s health and well-being. Parents who allow their resentments to get the better of them sometimes engage in behavior that encourages their child to become alienated from the other parent, known as Parental Alienation (PA) —a form of psychological abuse that can result in emotional and behavioral consequences for the child. While some states investigate components relevant to PA during a BICS evaluation, none include criteria that directly addresses this construct. Therefore, to achieve the intended outcome of BICS, which is to create a custody arrangement that will best meet a child’s needs, recognizing and addressing the presence of PA within a family system is required.

I denna uppsats undersöks begreppet ”barnets bästa” med utgångspunkten att granska vilka olika föreställningar som finns och har funnits kring vad detta innebär. Detta begrepp är inte nytt för vår tid, men det har debatterats mer efter tillkomsten av Förenta Nationernas konvention om barnets rättigheter som antogs 1989. Barnets bästa är dock en social konstruktion och innebörden av begreppet förändras därför ständigt. Metoden som ligger till grund för denna uppsats är dels en genomgång av litteratur och dels en textanalys av två historiska källmaterial bestående av en proposition från 1924, prop. 1924:150, och en av statens offentliga utredningar från 1997, SOU 1997:116. Genom denna textanalys framkommer både likheter och skillnader mellan samhällets syn på barnets bästa. Det kan konstateras att föreställningarna kring vad barnets bästa innebär har förändrats sedan början av 1900-talet. Utvecklingen av barnets bästa hänger samman med en mängd faktorer såsom synen på barn, rådande kultur, normer, värderingar, kunskap, ekonomi, politiska idéer, reformer och genusföreställningar. Slutsatsen är att vuxna såg till barnets bästa även i början av 1900-talet, men att begreppet då hade en annan innebörd. Därmed kan det konstateras att barnets bästa har varit, är och förblir ett begrepp i förändring. / In this paper the conception “the best interest of the child” examines with the starting-point to study which different ideas that exists and have existed about what this means. This conception is not new for today, but it has been debated more frequently after the creation of the United Nations Children’s Convention which was accepted in 1989. However, the best interest of the child is a social construction and therefore the meaning of the conception changes constantly. The method that lays the foundation of this paper is partly an exposition of literature and also a text analysis of two historical sources consisting of a government bill from 1924, prop. 1924:150, and one of the States official reports from 1997, SOU 1997:116. Through this text analysis emerges both similarities and differences between the society’s views on the best interest of the child. The statement is that the conceptions of what the best interest of the child mean have changed since the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of the best interest of the child is connected to many factors such as the view of the child, existing culture, norms, values, knowledge, economy, political ideas, reforms and gender conceptions. The conclusion is that grown-ups tried to fulfil what was best for the children even in the beginning of the twentieth century, but the conception had a different meaning at the time. Therefore the conclusion is that the best interest of the child has been, is and will be a conception in change.

<p>I denna uppsats undersöks begreppet ”barnets bästa” med utgångspunkten att granska vilka olika föreställningar som finns och har funnits kring vad detta innebär. Detta begrepp är inte nytt för vår tid, men det har debatterats mer efter tillkomsten av Förenta Nationernas konvention om barnets rättigheter som antogs 1989. Barnets bästa är dock en social konstruktion och innebörden av begreppet förändras därför ständigt.</p><p>Metoden som ligger till grund för denna uppsats är dels en genomgång av litteratur och dels en textanalys av två historiska källmaterial bestående av en proposition från 1924, prop. 1924:150, och en av statens offentliga utredningar från 1997, SOU 1997:116. Genom denna textanalys framkommer både likheter och skillnader mellan samhällets syn på barnets bästa.</p><p>Det kan konstateras att föreställningarna kring vad barnets bästa innebär har förändrats sedan början av 1900-talet. Utvecklingen av barnets bästa hänger samman med en mängd faktorer såsom synen på barn, rådande kultur, normer, värderingar, kunskap, ekonomi, politiska idéer, reformer och genusföreställningar. Slutsatsen är att vuxna såg till barnets bästa även i början av 1900-talet, men att begreppet då hade en annan innebörd. Därmed kan det konstateras att barnets bästa har varit, är och förblir ett begrepp i förändring.</p> / <p>In this paper the conception “the best interest of the child” examines with the starting-point to study which different ideas that exists and have existed about what this means. This conception is not new for today, but it has been debated more frequently after the creation of the United Nations Children’s Convention which was accepted in 1989. However, the best interest of the child is a social construction and therefore the meaning of the conception changes constantly.</p><p>The method that lays the foundation of this paper is partly an exposition of literature and also a text analysis of two historical sources consisting of a government bill from 1924, prop. 1924:150, and one of the States official reports from 1997, SOU 1997:116. Through this text analysis emerges both similarities and differences between the society’s views on the best interest of the child.</p><p>The statement is that the conceptions of what the best interest of the child mean have changed since the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of the best interest of the child is connected to many factors such as the view of the child, existing culture, norms, values, knowledge, economy, political ideas, reforms and gender conceptions. The conclusion is that grown-ups tried to fulfil what was best for the children even in the beginning of the twentieth century, but the conception had a different meaning at the time. Therefore the conclusion is that the best interest of the child has been, is and will be a conception in change.</p>

The aim of the study was to examine collaboration and professional perspectives on the best interest of the child in regards to working with unaccompanied asylum seeking children. Firstly, our result show that counselling is available for the unaccompanied children from case workers, staff, school counsellors and emergency psychiatric care. All of the participants in this study describe the need for long-term counselling for unaccompanied children, however, providing the long-term counselling is not the primary purpose of the organisations in question. Therefore an additional service-provider working with counselling is a necessity. Secondly, the study explores the participants’ professional perspectives on the best interest of the child. The participating professionals work with the best interest of the child in accordance with their level of education and professional role. At the same time, they stress the fact that time, resources and other factors have an influence on their ability to keep the best interest of the child in focus. Finally, the study addresses collaboration between the service providing organisations. Collaboration does exist, but the participants wish for a development and transparency in the collaboration in order to clarify the responsibilities of each organisation. / Studiens syfte var att undersöka samverkan och professionellas perspektiv på barnets bästa i arbetet med ensamkommande barn genom besvarandet av tre frågeställningar. Den första frågeställningen rör de möjligheter till psykosocialt stöd som finns för ensamkommande barn. Vårt resultat visar att möjligheter finns i form av stöd hos handläggare, personal och skolkurator samt BUPs akutmottagning. Verksamheternas primära syfte är dock inte långsiktigt behandlande stödsamtal, vilket är något som samtliga respondenter anser att många ensamkommande barn är i behov av. Det behövs alltså ytterligare en aktör vars syfte är att arbeta med psykosocialt stöd för dessa barn. Den andra frågeställningen undersöker hur respondenterna ser på begreppet barnets bästa utifrån sitt professionella perspektiv. Samtliga respondenter har uppgett att de arbetar efter bästa förmåga i relation till sin yrkesroll och utbildningsnivå. Respondenterna påtalar samtidigt att tid, resurser och andra omgivningsfaktorer påverkar deras möjligheter att arbeta för barnets bästa. Studiens sista frågeställning berör samverkan mellan de verksamheter som tagit del i studien. Resultatet belyser att samverkan mellan verksamheterna existerar, men att respondenterna önskar en utveckling och transparens i samverkan för att tydliggöra samtligas uppgifter.

The purpose of this qualitative sociological law study is to examine the relationship between the social services and civil court to apprehend if knowledge about the child's best interest is transfered from social workers to the legal system. This have been done by investigating civil court cases concerning custody transition from biological parents to foster parents according to 6 chapter 8 paragraph in the law of parenting, built upon the legal principle of the best interests of the child. Eight cases has been examined by using a method of qualitative text analysis and categorised into five primary categories and three concepts linked to sections of the law. The material has been analysed through a sociological law perspective, social constructionist theory and attachment theory. The study shows that a variety of factors interacts when it comes to determining what’s in the best interest of the child . Moreover, the civil court refers in all eight cases to social services assessments of the child's situation. This suggests that social services have an informal power position when it comes to decisions on custody transition in accordance with the child's best interests.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the established law and make researches into non-institutional compulsory care (“mellantvång”) paragraph 22 The Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (from now on called LVU) and examine whether the administration of the law is in harmony with the best interests of the child. This paper combines two methods : traditional judicial method and a social science method. In the juridical part the sources of law have been studied and in the social sciences part semi-structured interviews have been conducted with five respondents. The theoretical framework consists of ideas and theories about the best interests of the child, a concept which is one of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child's core principles. This study shows that the legislator has identified a problem and an existing need and found a solution to this by introducing a non-institutional compulsory care, paragraph 22 LVU. The problem is that Social Services do not make use of the restraint. Only 30 decisions under § 22 LVU are taken annually in Sweden. For the legal rights of the individual and the best interests of the child, the Social Services are required to make decisions under this article instead of the current use of the informal threat of non-institutional compulsory care.

Esta pesquisa objetivou estudar o princípio do melhor interesse da criança tanto em seu viés teórico quanto prático, na tentativa de se concluir se é possível ou não adotar-se critérios predeterminados para serem seguidos na tomada de decisões em questões envolvendo crianças e adolescentes. Na primeira parte, teórica, estudou-se o conteúdo do melhor interesse, e se poderia ele ser entendido como regra de interpretação, direito fundamental ou princípio. Já a segunda parte, prática, buscou analisar como os tribunais vêm decidindo algumas questões que resvalam no melhor interesse. Para tal, alguns institutos foram selecionados (guarda, adoção, parto anônimo, visitas e educação). A análise da guarda passou pela sua diferenciação entre colocação em família substituta e atribuição a um dos pais em caso de separação. Discutiu-se a possibilidade de atribuição a terceira pessoa e de imposição da modalidade compartilhada. Estudou-se o direito de visitas para o caso de a guarda ter sido atribuída a somente um dos pais. Estendeu-se a pesquisa para a hipótese de garantir-se esse direito a amigos, padrastos, madrastas e padrinhos. A adoção foi estudada nas modalidades à brasileira, intuitu personae e internacional. Ainda, analisou-se a possibilidade de adoção por casal homoafetivo. Embora inexistente no direito brasileiro, o parto anônimo foi analisado para se observar se viável e necessário em nosso ordenamento. Por fim, estudou-se o direito à educação, realçando-se alguns aspectos como a possibilidade de o ensino ser realizado fora de estabelecimentos oficiais, transporte de crianças até suas escolas e a possibilidade de exigirem-se vagas em creches. / This research aimed to study the principle of the best interest of the child, both in theory and in practice, in an attempt to conclude whether it is possible or not to adopt predetermined criteria to be followed in making decisions on issues involving children and adolescents. In the first part, theoretical, the content of the best interest was studied, as well as the possibility of understanding it as a rule of interpretation, fundamental right or principle. The second part, practical, sought to analyze how the courts have been deciding issues involving the best interest. In doing so, some institutes were selected (guardianship, adoption, anonymous childbirth, visits and education). The analysis of the guardianship passed by differentiating between placement in foster family and its assignment to one of the parents in case of separation. The possibility of assigning it to a third person and the imposition of shared custody were discussed. The visitation rights in case when the custody has been awarded to only one parent was studied. The research was extended to the hypothesis of granting this right to friends, stepfathers, stepmothers and godfathers or godmothers. The research studied Brazilian, intuitu personae and international adoptions, as well as the possibility of adoption by homosexual couples. Although non-existing under Brazilian law, the anonymous childbirth was analyzed to observe if it is viable and needed in our system. Finally, the right of education was studied, and aspects such as the possibility of homeschooling, transportation of children to their schools and the requiring of vacancies in childcare facilities were highlighted.

This thesis deals with the protection of children in international refugee law. The status of a person seeking international protection under international law is primarily regulated by the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. However, this Convention does not expressly address the specific situation of the child asylum seeker. By adopting a binding Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the broad catalogue of basic civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children has been confirmed. It includes the right of a child seeking international protection to obtain the necessary protection and humanitarian assistance when the child wants to exercise its rights under the CRC or other conventions of international law of human rights. CRC includes, inter alia, four fundamental principles, the elimination of discrimination, the right to life, survival and development, respect for the child's position and the principle of the best interests of the child. The goal of this thesis is to determine whether and how the position of the child seeking international protection under the international refugee law has been influenced by the CRC and by the principle of the best interests of the child. The thesis is divided into four chapters, the first two chapters deal with the historical...

The purpose of this essay is to create an understanding of how social workers work to ensure that the best interest of the child is achieved in custody disputes. The essay is based on seven semi-structured interviews with practicing social workers working with family law. The gathered material was analyzed using a thematic analysis method. The results of the study show that working with the best interest of the child in mind, using a child´s perspective, is complex and difficult. One of the reasons why it is difficult is that there is no exact definition of what “the best interest of the child” is and how it should be realised by the social worker since the concept should be assessed and applied individually every single time. All of the respondents states that the investigation is imbued by the wellbeing of them say that ultimately the child´s best interest is not what is valued the most in the investigation. The material shows that all the respondents are aware that the children’s perspective should be prominent during the entirety of the investigation. It is a common goal amongst the respondents to always work with the children’s perspective in mind, to ensure the best interest of the child.