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A New Approach to Child Participation in Family Law Conflicts in Denmark
Bettina Lemann Kristiansen ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This chapter looks at the Family Law reform in Denmark and what it means for children's participation in family law conflicts. The reform puts the best interests of the child at the centre and adds a new procedural approach based on conflict management. The author explores the background to the reform and its practical implications. The chapter argues that these two parts of the reform together push towards deeper involvement of the child in legal decisions.
Key points
- The Danish Family Law reform is described as a paradigm shift in basic family law values.
- The reform has a substantive element and a procedural element.
- The best interests of the child is the central value and the reform marks a shift to a child-centred approach.
- The procedural element shifts towards conflict management, with new conflict management methods introduced.
- The chapter argues that the two pillars together drive deeper engagement of the child in legal decisions.
Limitations
Only the abstract is available, so it gives no detail on how the reform works in practice, no data on children's experiences, and no evidence on outcomes. It reads as a legal and policy analysis rather than an evaluation of an intervention.
Abstract
Abstract The Family Law reform in Denmark marks a paradigm shift in basic family law values that comprises both a substantive element and a procedural element. The Family Law underlines that the central value—‘the best interests of the child’—is pivotal, thus enhancing children’s rights and marking a shift towards a child-centred approach. With regard to the procedural element, there has been a shift towards a conflict management approach, including the introduction of new conflict management methods. The background to the reform and the practical implications for child participation are explored in this chapter. In this chapter, I examine the Family Law reform’s implications for child participation. The reform’s twin pillars—the principle that a child’s best interests must prevail and a new procedural framework—together drive towards deeper engagement of the child in legal decisions.