Antinomies of Anglo-American and Domestic jurisprudence in understanding the children’s rights issues

Abstract

The article analyses the views of Anglo-American jurisprudence on the issues of children's rights in the context of similar national scientific works. Within the Ukrainian legal thought, the issue of childhood legal mediation and understanding of the child's status is traditionally addressed on the basis of theoretical (primarily positivist) ideas about the subjects of legal relations, the theory of the legal status of a person, and ways of protecting rights developed by fundamental legal science, civil and family law. The formation and development of the best interests of the child theory in Anglo-American legal science is essentially an alternative scientific approach to solving the problem of the volitional factor as a prerequisite for the acquisition and exercise of rights by a child. According to some scholars, this allows avoiding conceptual contradictions when addressing the issue of including children among persons who have subjective rights and bear legal responsibilities. At the conceptual and legal level, the best interests of the child in Anglo-American jurisprudence are considered to be an important legal category that requires consideration on the highest level of the child's needs and ensuring his or her well-being, safety and harmonious development in society. This category requires constant consideration of the interests of the child in various life situations and conditions of a competitive society. With the concept of “ensuring the best interests of the child” formalised in Ukrainian positive law in 2016, the interest of the national scientific community in creative understanding of the current views of representatives of Anglo-American jurisprudence on the issue of children’s rights will continue to grow, since the interests of children, despite scientific disputes and other circumstances, always require legal protection and legal support.