Rights of the child, parents' rights, and state monitoring. When is state intervention in parental autonomy permissible?

摘要

Children have their own rights from the outset. It is primarily their parents who are responsible for the implementation of these rights. But state instances also carry responsibility for child rights. The state should only intervene in the parental autonomy against the will of the parents when a child's well-being is endangered. The subject under investigation is whether the development of Fruhe Hilfen may have led to a subtle bringing forward of the threshold to state intervention, and how this should be assessed from the perspective of the rights of the child. The relevant legal and sociological literature is surveyed and evaluated with this question in mind. Findings indicate that there has been no change in the threshold to state intervention on a legal level. However, there are obvious signs that with the application of existing norms, more than before, the state no longer waits to intervene until actual harm has been done to a child, but already does so when there is a concrete threat to the child's well-being. The discussion shows that from the rights of the child perspective there is no existing reason to bring forward the threshold to state intervention in the parental autonomy. However, there is need for improvement in regard to specialist as well as legal measures. It is suggested that an approach based on the child's rights should be established across all professional fields, the child's position in various points of social law, and the rights of the child anchored in constitutional law.