Family law and children’s rights
	The legal protection of children and the family The Council of Europe, an international organisation comprising the European parliamentary democracies, is endeavouring to keep a close watch on developments in member states in order to detect as soon as possible new needs and identify subjects suitable for co-operation at European level. Among these subjects, legal co-operation in the field of family law plays an important role taking into account that it is dealing with issues closely linked to the private lives of all persons. On the other hand, it should also be borne in mind that some problems concerning the family cannot be solved only in a national framework because, by their very nature, they go beyond national frontiers (e.g. an improper removal of a child by a parent across a border).(more...)
NEWS
The Council of Europe and the European Commission are organising jointly a conference on: “Challenges in Adoption Procedures in Europe: ensuring the best interests of the child”. This event will be held at the Council of Europe Headquarters, in Strasbourg (Palais de l’Europe – Room 1), from Monday 30 November (09h30) to Tuesday 1 December 2009 (18h00). The first day of the Conference will be devoted to national adoption and the second day to international adoption. More specifically, the following themes will be dealt with:
- the revised European Convention on the Adoption of Children and the best interests of the child; - the adults in the adoption process; - the role and responsibility of State Authorities; - the access to one's origins: how to find a balance between the different parties involved? - from National to International Adoptions: The 1993 Hague Convention on Adoption; - the right to a family: is International Adoption the last resort solution? - towards a European Adoption Policy? This event is open to European Union and Council of Europe member States as well as all law practitioners and institutions or associations concerned with the adoption of children. Participants should ideally be experts in family law, and in particular in the adoption of children. Draft programme
NEWS
				The 7th European Conference on Family Law took place on 16 March 2009 in Strasbourg on the topic of international family mediation. The aim of the conference was to improve and harmonise co-operation and practices in the field of international family mediation (costs, quality control and enforcement of mediated agreements). Training requirements for international family mediators were also be on the agenda. It is hoped that this event will raise awareness on existing good practices in international family mediation by looking at other forms of alternative dispute resolution and their characteristics. The Conference also explored possible synergies between international organisations (more).
News
On 27 November 2008, European Convention on the adoption of children (revised) was opened for signature in Strasbourg, on the occasion of the handover of the Swedish chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers to Spain. Five member states have already signed this convention and it is hoped that these signatures will soon be followed by ratifications as only three ratifications are needed for the revised Convention to enter into force. The new convention takes into account social and legal developments throughout Europe. This revised text strives to improve national procedures for adoption and take into account case-law of the European Court on Human Rights. Just as importantly, the new text bears in mind the fact that the child’s best interests must always take precedence over any other considerations. (more)										©Council of Europe, illustration by Lotte Klaver.
Text of the convention Text of the explanatory report Text of the convention in German Press release Brochure outling the convention						Interview with Mr W. Schütz, Chair of the Working Party on adoption, member of the CDCJ and CJ-FA Article on the new convention, by Ms Rosemary Horgan, Sollicitor, Member of the Working Party on adoption
News
Council of Europe Achievements in the field of law – Family law and the protection of children Version August 2008 now available									Nigel Lowe’s study into the rights and legal status of children being brought up in various forms of maritial or non-marital partnerships and cohabitation Version July 2009
Recent meetings • Last meeting of CJ-FA-GT2 on incapable adults, 3-5 December 2008 (more….) • Last meeting of CJ-FA-GT1 on missing persons, 19-21 January 2009 (more…) • Last meeting of CJ-FA, 17-20 March 2009 (more…) Activities • CJ-FA (Committee of experts on family law) CJ-FA-GT1 (Working Party N°1) CJ-FA-GT2 (Working Party N°2) Convention committees • Convention Committee on the Custody Convention (T-CC) • Standing Committee on the European Convention on the Exercise of Children's Rights (T-ED)							Achievements and documents Conventions, Resolutions Recommendations, other documents Conferences and colloquies European Seminar on the Protection and Promotion of Children’s Rights (Kyiv, 6-7 December 2007) - Conclusions - More information on the event Judgments and Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights Latest judgments – Varnava and others v. Turkey – Press release E.B. v. France – Press release Kearns v. France – Press release Wagner and J.M.W.L. v. Luxembourg – Press release List of case-law concerning adoption (non-exhaustive list)
Report containing an evaluation of the Council of Europe legal instruments in the field of family law (2006) prepared by Professor Nigel Lowe, Professor of Law, Director of the Centre for International Family Law Studies, Cardiff, UK
The Convention on contact concerning children [ETS 192] opened for signature 15 May 2003 The inherent problems with respect to the exercise of contact give rise to significant disputes in many countries. Some parents - and sometimes rightly so- are reluctant to grant contact rights while others are deprived of the possibility of obtaining or of maintaining any type of contact at all with their child. (more...)
The White Paper on principles concerning the establishment and legal consequences of parentage With the legal and social changes which have occurred at the national and international level, in particular, as regards human rights and the protection of the rights of the child, as well as the newly available medical techniques, there is an increased need for member States of the Council of Europe to update their laws in order to clarify and reinforce the legal status of the child. Matters relating to parentage are one of the main issues that arise when dealing with the legal status of children. (more...)
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Other Programmes
Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse: Awareness Raising Conferences Protecting children from violence has been a top priority at the Council of Europe for many years. In 2007 the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse was adopted and opened for signature on the occasion of the 28th Conference of European Ministers of Justice in Lanzarote, Spain. Link to website							''Building a Europe for and with Children” A three-year Council of Europe programme for the promotion of children's rights and the protection of children from violence. Programme website