The Children Act 1989 Case Study
The Children Act 1989 states that in matters concerning the upbringing of a child "the child 's welfare shall be the court 's paramount consideration".
Introduction
This essay will critically evaluate the extent to which if at all the principle that "the Childs welfare shall be the courts paramount decision." The critical analysis of this will be done in context to health care and children. The discussion will include current relevant statute law not only from English courts, but also law and legislation from other parts of the world, as well as current cases, primary and secondary sources relevant to the title argument.
Parental responsibility enables a person to make decisions about the upbringing of a child. Parents generally keep parental …show more content…
General day-to-day decisions which may seem trivial but relate to the child 's welfare are very important for children. Children may not want or have the capacity to take full responsibility for important decisions, but they do want to be involved and consulted. This involvement is also an important way in which children can gain experience so that when they do take full responsibility they have developed their abilities in decision making.
Gillick competence
Section 8 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969[2] marks the first status-based boundary in this area of law. Its effect is to limit the belief of competency to all patients aged 16 and over. The courts have strictly adhered to this statutory age limit, almost to the point of absurdity. In many cases a patient a few months short of their sixteenth birthday will find his decision making ability challenged.
However once they pass this age, the burden of proof is reversed and they are considered as being more reputable at decision making[3].
Having said that there is no overnight transformation on a child 's sixteenth birthday. But instead their ability and capacity will gradually increase with the passing of time and with greater experience of …show more content…
For consent to really mean something people must have the right to make choices that accord with their own values regardless of how unwise or foolish these choices may appear to others. Previous decisions such as that in
Sidaway[10] emphasised that a right to decide is crucial to the concept of consent.
For the present the child-specific half-capacity proffered in R and W holds its own. In Re M[11], for example, where the court authorised a heart transplant against the wishes of a 15 ½ year old woman the judge, Johnson J, remarked that her parents could have done so. In Re
K, W and H[12] compulsory psychiatric treatment was ruled legal on the basis of parental consent alone. The upshot for the "mature minor" is that the effectiveness of any competent refusal by him is subject to his parents ' willingness to respect it.
Case of Re L
The case of Re L[13] brought the issue of whether or not teenagers should be forced to have medical treatment that they might not necessarily want. This case evolved around a girl of 14 years, who had received serious burns to her skin as a result of falling into a scalding hot bath. As a consequence if she was not to be
Introduction
This essay will critically evaluate the extent to which if at all the principle that "the Childs welfare shall be the courts paramount decision." The critical analysis of this will be done in context to health care and children. The discussion will include current relevant statute law not only from English courts, but also law and legislation from other parts of the world, as well as current cases, primary and secondary sources relevant to the title argument.
Parental responsibility enables a person to make decisions about the upbringing of a child. Parents generally keep parental …show more content…
General day-to-day decisions which may seem trivial but relate to the child 's welfare are very important for children. Children may not want or have the capacity to take full responsibility for important decisions, but they do want to be involved and consulted. This involvement is also an important way in which children can gain experience so that when they do take full responsibility they have developed their abilities in decision making.
Gillick competence
Section 8 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969[2] marks the first status-based boundary in this area of law. Its effect is to limit the belief of competency to all patients aged 16 and over. The courts have strictly adhered to this statutory age limit, almost to the point of absurdity. In many cases a patient a few months short of their sixteenth birthday will find his decision making ability challenged.
However once they pass this age, the burden of proof is reversed and they are considered as being more reputable at decision making[3].
Having said that there is no overnight transformation on a child 's sixteenth birthday. But instead their ability and capacity will gradually increase with the passing of time and with greater experience of …show more content…
For consent to really mean something people must have the right to make choices that accord with their own values regardless of how unwise or foolish these choices may appear to others. Previous decisions such as that in
Sidaway[10] emphasised that a right to decide is crucial to the concept of consent.
For the present the child-specific half-capacity proffered in R and W holds its own. In Re M[11], for example, where the court authorised a heart transplant against the wishes of a 15 ½ year old woman the judge, Johnson J, remarked that her parents could have done so. In Re
K, W and H[12] compulsory psychiatric treatment was ruled legal on the basis of parental consent alone. The upshot for the "mature minor" is that the effectiveness of any competent refusal by him is subject to his parents ' willingness to respect it.
Case of Re L
The case of Re L[13] brought the issue of whether or not teenagers should be forced to have medical treatment that they might not necessarily want. This case evolved around a girl of 14 years, who had received serious burns to her skin as a result of falling into a scalding hot bath. As a consequence if she was not to be