Child Protection and the European Court of Human Rights

Lessons from Norway in the Development and Contestation of Children’s Rights

Hege Stein Helland, Marit Skivenes, Siri Gloppen

• Publisher: Policy Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781447371489
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Family Law
• Index: Social Sciences

Article 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights gives children the same protection of their fundamental rights and freedoms as adults. However, there is a notable absence of specific provisions for their rights. What does this imply in practice?

This interdisciplinary volume brings together leading scholars in political science, law, social work and more to examine how the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) shapes – and is shaped by – child protection litigation and mobilisation.

Norway has had more child protection cases decided by the ECtHR than any other country, and so this book, a first of its kind, uses Norway as a specific focus and explores the evolving role of the Court in balancing parental rights, state authority and children's best interests, offering a fresh perspective on the intersection of international human rights law, children's rights and child protection policy.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of abbreviations
• Notes on contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• 1 Children’s rights under pressure: Norway, the European Court of Human Rights and the challenges to welfare state legitimacy
• PART I The European Court of Human Rights from a national perspective
• PART II Transnational influence of the European Court of Human Rights
• PART III The European Court of Human Rights and its jurisprudence
• Index