(How) do Children’s Rights to Participation take form in custody cases? The illusion of an institutional and legal framework safeguarding the child’s perspective
Sonander, Anna LU
and Lundberg, Anna
LU
(2026)
p.131-144
- Abstract
- Starting from the premise that child participation is an individual right, this chapter exposes the institutional challenges and contradictions that shape how professionals navigate children’s voices in Swedish custody disputes. Based on judge interviews and court observations, we find that direct child involvement remains rare—decisions rely on proxies such as parental testimony and social-services reports—revealing a gap between legal ideals and courtroom practice. This ‘trial by proxy’ both shields children from conflict and effectively silences them, while divergent readings of ‘best interests’ within Sweden’s civil-law culture skew outcomes. Despite recent reforms elevating a child-rights perspective, participation remains... (More)
- Starting from the premise that child participation is an individual right, this chapter exposes the institutional challenges and contradictions that shape how professionals navigate children’s voices in Swedish custody disputes. Based on judge interviews and court observations, we find that direct child involvement remains rare—decisions rely on proxies such as parental testimony and social-services reports—revealing a gap between legal ideals and courtroom practice. This ‘trial by proxy’ both shields children from conflict and effectively silences them, while divergent readings of ‘best interests’ within Sweden’s civil-law culture skew outcomes. Despite recent reforms elevating a child-rights perspective, participation remains conditional, dependent on age and maturity assessments. The chapter concludes by calling for a critical discussion about different perspectives on children’s participation in practice, and how their interaction shapes the effective protection and advancement of children’s rights in legal proceedings. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Starting from the premise that child participation is an individual right, this chapter exposes the institutional challenges and contradictions that shape how professionals navigate children’s voices in Swedish custody disputes. Based on judge interviews and court observations, we find that direct child involvement remains rare—decisions rely on proxies such as parental testimony and social-services reports—revealing a gap between legal ideals and courtroom practice. This ‘trial by proxy’ both shields children from conflict and effectively silences them, while divergent readings of ‘best interests’ within Sweden’s civil-law culture skew outcomes. Despite recent reforms elevating a child-rights perspective, participation remains... (More)
- Starting from the premise that child participation is an individual right, this chapter exposes the institutional challenges and contradictions that shape how professionals navigate children’s voices in Swedish custody disputes. Based on judge interviews and court observations, we find that direct child involvement remains rare—decisions rely on proxies such as parental testimony and social-services reports—revealing a gap between legal ideals and courtroom practice. This ‘trial by proxy’ both shields children from conflict and effectively silences them, while divergent readings of ‘best interests’ within Sweden’s civil-law culture skew outcomes. Despite recent reforms elevating a child-rights perspective, participation remains conditional, dependent on age and maturity assessments. The chapter concludes by calling for a critical discussion about different perspectives on children’s participation in practice, and how their interaction shapes the effective protection and advancement of children’s rights in legal proceedings. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/0042e4c2-7f9c-4464-9bcd-a95def3ab426
- author
- Sonander, Anna
LU
and Lundberg, Anna
LU
- organization
- alternative title
- (Hur) tar barns rätt till delaktighet form i vårdnadstvister? Illusionen av ett institutionellt och rättsligt ramverk som säkrar barnets perspektiv.
- publishing date
- 2026-09-29
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- host publication
- Building a Sustainable Society Through Child Participation : Nordic Research and Practical Application - Nordic Research and Practical Application
- editor
- Sonander, Anna ; Petersen, Mimi and Wickenberg, Per
- pages
- 14 pages
- publisher
- Springer
- ISBN
- 978-3-032-04534-8
- 978-3-032-04537-9
- 978-3-032-04535-5
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-032-04535-5_11
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 0042e4c2-7f9c-4464-9bcd-a95def3ab426
- date added to LUP
- 2026-01-30 12:30:27
- date last changed
- 2026-01-31 13:32:27
@inbook{0042e4c2-7f9c-4464-9bcd-a95def3ab426,
abstract = {{Starting from the premise that child participation is an individual right, this chapter exposes the institutional challenges and contradictions that shape how professionals navigate children’s voices in Swedish custody disputes. Based on judge interviews and court observations, we find that direct child involvement remains rare—decisions rely on proxies such as parental testimony and social-services reports—revealing a gap between legal ideals and courtroom practice. This ‘trial by proxy’ both shields children from conflict and effectively silences them, while divergent readings of ‘best interests’ within Sweden’s civil-law culture skew outcomes. Despite recent reforms elevating a child-rights perspective, participation remains conditional, dependent on age and maturity assessments. The chapter concludes by calling for a critical discussion about different perspectives on children’s participation in practice, and how their interaction shapes the effective protection and advancement of children’s rights in legal proceedings.}},
author = {{Sonander, Anna and Lundberg, Anna}},
booktitle = {{Building a Sustainable Society Through Child Participation : Nordic Research and Practical Application}},
editor = {{Sonander, Anna and Petersen, Mimi and Wickenberg, Per}},
isbn = {{978-3-032-04534-8}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{09}},
pages = {{131--144}},
publisher = {{Springer}},
title = {{(How) do Children’s Rights to Participation take form in custody cases? The illusion of an institutional and legal framework safeguarding the child’s perspective}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-04535-5_11}},
doi = {{10.1007/978-3-032-04535-5_11}},
year = {{2026}},
}