Claims-making in court cases on children: Religion, ethnicity, and culture in cases of Dutch minority families against the state

Abstract

This paper focuses on claims made by family members in court cases against state institutions. Taking a socio-legal, empirical approach, I aim to explore claims-making in different types of cases from various fields of law, with a particular focus on issues regarding children from minority families. I will analyse in what cases these claims are made and how courts react to such claims. The paper is based on an analysis of Dutch court judgements, as well as an ongoing study including interviews with judges and court personnel; lawyers; welfare professionals; and NGOs and a study of child protection files at the courts of The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht, and Amsterdam. When making religious, ethnic, or cultural claims in court cases concerning their children, minority families may demand to be treated differently based on their religious, ethnic or cultural background. I will demonstrate how such claims can be shaped by the legal and institutional context as well as by litigants themselves. Although religious, ethnic, or cultural claims are relatively rare, they force courts to explicitly reflect on representations of culture, ethnicity, or religion. Therefore, studying such exceptional cases provide an interesting opportunity to study how Dutch courts deal with these representations.