Child Law in Ireland provides a comprehensive and accessible analysis of the Irish child law system. It incorporates an examination of Ireland's international obligations in this area arising under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as an examination of the Irish Constitution and the domestic legislative framework. The book addresses a wide range of child law topics, including: children's rights; parentage; donor-assisted human reproduction and surrogacy; guardianship, custody and access; child protection; representation and participation; and education. Child Law in Ireland includes a discussion of timely legal developments, such as: the Assisted Reproduction Bill 2017; the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015; the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017; the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016; the Children First Act 2015; and the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016, among others.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) requires States Parties to take all appropriate measures to implement the rights in the Convention. As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Convention?s adoption, focus has shifted onto the measures being taken at national level to give effect to children?s rights with specific reference to legal incorporation both direct and indirect. The way in which the CRC is given legal effect is highly contingent upon the constitutional and legal systems of individual countries and can best be understood by those writing from the specific national context. So this book combines individual contributions that address the experience of legal incorporation in selected countries by their national experts, with comparative analysis of the international landscape from the world?s leading authorities on legal implementation of the CRC. The jurisdictions covered in this book include Australia, Scotland, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Iceland, Wales, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Mexico and China.

In Ireland, the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 gives legal recognition to the diverse relationships that exist in the country. It is the most comprehensive amendment to Irish law on children and family relationships in many decades. This book examines, analyzes, and explains the new legal regime by addressing a wide range of new issues, including: parental rights in diverse family arrangements * parentage in cases of assisted reproduction * the establishment of a national donor-conceived person register * the "best interests" principle with regard to children * joint adoption for civil partners/cohabiting partners * access entitlements for a wider range of people * defined maintenance provisions for civil partners and cohabiting partners living with a child for a certain amount of time * provisions to help "make parenting work" * the formalization of the relationship between a child and their de facto parent. The book also examines the new yet different pathways to guardianship, expanding the duties, obligations, and rights of guardians and thereby further bolstering the rights of children. For the first time, non-marital fathers cohabiting for a specified period with the child's mother will be entitled to automatic guardianship. Subject: Irish Law, Children's Law, Family Law]

This book examines how child protection law has been shaped by the transition to late modernity and how it copes with the ever-changing concept of risk. The book traces the evolution of the contemporary child protection system through historical changes, assessing the factors that have influenced the development of legal responses to abuse over a 130-year period. It does so by focussing on the Republic of Ireland where child protection has become emblematic of wider social change. The work draws on a wide range of primary and secondary sources including legislation, case law and official and media reports of child protection inquiries. It also utilises insights developed through an extensive examination of parliamentary debates on child protection matters. These materials are assessed through the lens of critical discourse analysis to explore the relationship between law, social policy and social theory as they effect child protection. While the book utilises primarily Irish sources, this multidisciplinary approach ensures the argument has international applicability. The book will be a valuable resource for all those with an interest in the development of child protection law.

Child Law is an exceptional work... it stands out as an impressive and much-needed reference on the law as it relates to one of our nation's most valued resources The Hon. Mr Justice John L Murray, Chief Justice of Ireland, Four Courts, in the foreword to the new edition. Child Law - 2nd Edition is a fully comprehensive narrative text of 1,400 pages. Now part of the Brehon Library the new edition provides a detailed text with full analysis and commentary, offering an assessment of the law together with suggested approaches to its practice. This seminal text covers both civil and criminal aspects of child law and gives you a clear and incisive examination of the entire Irish child law system. Child Law - 2nd Edition has been fully revised to reflect all legislative changes since the first edition. The new edition of Child Law will include all recent national and international court decisions. It also includes a commentary on all statutes and statutory instruments in the child law area that have come into force since the last edition. CHILD LAW - 2nd EDITION CONTAINS NEW MATERIAL INCLUDING: 1. Migrant children, child refugees and asylum seekers, separated children and trafficked children - Considers the Immigration Residence, and Protection Bill 2008 and the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008. 2. Maintenance - Considers the myriad of issues in relation to maintenance and children, including new rules on the recognition of foreign maintenance orders. 3. Children and the Criminal Justice System - Reviews the child as an offender. 4. Child Sexual Abuse - Deals with the child as a victim, including child abuse, sexual abuse of children, grooming, child pornography, vetting, and the Sex Offenders Register. 5. Medical Law - Assisted Reproductive Technologies and the various family law issues are dealt with. 6. New Approaches to Children's Interests - Reviews the challenges in securing the best interest of children and young people in the context of the changing nature of family life in Ireland. It considers a range of issues that the legislature and courts will have to grapple with over the next few decades. These issues are explored in light of Ireland's obligations under international law and in particular the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Civil Partnership Bill 2009 is also examined. COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE * Considers the impact of the proliferation of increasingly complex international instruments on domestic child law. * Deals with education and undertakes an examination of the right to education under the Constitution and the Education Acts. * Comprehensive coverage of alternative care in the context of the role of the Health Service Executive under the Child Care Act, 1991 as amended by the Child Care (Amendment) Act, 2009, including the role of the HSE in childcare and protection, the placement of children outside the State, children with medical or psychiatric needs, child pornography, vetting and childcare services. * Deals with the involvement of children in the legal process. It considers hearing the voice of the child, the separate representation of children and the role of the Ombudsman for Children. * Examines in detail for the Adoption Act 2009. * Considers international initiatives designed to combat child abuse as well as specific Irish issues regarding child abuse. * Examines the position of migrant children, child refugees, child trafficiking, and asylum seekers. * Deals with the emerging areas of medical treatment of minors and a range of issues that the legislature and courts will have to address over the next few decades. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Geoffrey Shannon is Ireland's leading expert on the law relating to children. Since the first edition of this seminal work, Geoffrey Shannon has been appointed by the Government as Chairman of the Adoption Board and a Special Rapporteur on Child Protection. He has also been appointed by the Irish Economic and Social Research Institute as the Child Law expert to the longitudinal study of children, which is the most ambitious project of its kind ever to have been commissioned in Ireland. He is editor of the Irish Journal of Family Law and has published extensively in the areas of Family and Child Law. In March 2010, Geoffrey Shannon was appointed as a member of an expert review panel to examine the deaths of children in care of the State.