The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the

Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties. It also monitors implementation of two optional protocols to the Convention, on involvement of children in armed conflict and on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Convention deals with the child-specific needs and rights. It requires that states act in the best interests of the child. This approach is different from the common law approach found in many countries that had previously treated children as possessions or chattels, ownership of which was sometimes argued over in family disputes. In many jurisdictions, properly implementing the Convention requires an overhaul of child custody and guardianship laws, or, at the very least, a creative approach within the existing laws. The Convention acknowledges that every child has certain basic rights, including the right to life, his or her own name and identity, to be raised by his or her parents within a family or cultural grouping, and to have a relationship with both parents, even if they are separated. The Convention obliges states to allow parents to exercise their parental responsibilities. The Convention also acknowledges that children have the right to express their opinions and to have those opinions heard and acted upon when appropriate, to be protected from abuse or exploitation, and to have their privacy protected, and it requires that their lives not be subject to excessive interference.The Convention also obliges signatory states to provide separate legal representation for a child in any judicial dispute concerning their care and asks that the child's viewpoint be heard in such cases. The Convention forbids capital punishment for children.

Assessing the best interests of the child

In proceedings involving divorce or the dissolution of a common-law marriage or a civil union, family courts are directed to assess the best interests of any children of these unions. The determination is also used in proceedings which determine legal obligations and entitlements, such as when a child is born outside of marriage, when grandparents assert rights with respect to their grandchildren, and when biological parents assert rights with respect to a child who was given up for adoption. It is the doctrine usually employed in cases regarding the potential emancipation of minors. Courts will use this doctrine when called upon to determine who should make medical decisions for a child where the parents disagree with healthcare providers or other authorities. In determining the best interests of the child or children in the context of a separation of the parents, the court may order various investigations to be undertaken by social workers, Family Court Advisors from CAFCASS, psychologists and other forensic experts, to

determine the living conditions of the child and his custodial and non-custodial parents. Such issues as the stability of the child's life, links with the community, and stability of the home environment provided by each parent may be considered by a court in deciding the child's residency in custody and visitation proceedings. What is the the Convention on the Rights of the Child? A: The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is an internationally recognized agreement between nations which establishes a comprehensive set of goals for individual nations to achieve on behalf of their children. In general, the Convention calls for:

Freedom from violence, abuse, hazardous employment, exploitation, abduction or sale Adequate nutrition Free compulsory primary education Adequate health care Equal treatment regardless of gender, race, or cultural background The right to express opinions and freedom of though in matters affecting them Safe exposure/access to leisure, play, culture, and art.

The general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

a) A small revolution The CRC dedicates particular attention to the protection of children. In this sense, it takes up well-known principles such as protection from abuse, work, 1 and sexual exploitation. While developing some of these principles, the Convention simultaneously introduces protection into a number of new domains, namely: prevention of torture, the involvement of children in armed conflict, drug trafficking and consumption of narcotics, unjustified privations of freedom, and separation from parents without due cause. The promulgation of two optional protocols to the Convention in 2000, one on children in armed conflict and the other on sexual exploitation, trafficking and use of children in pornography, further emphasizes this protective aspect. 2 The concept of the best interests of the child is found throughout the Convention, providing States parties with numerous obligations to consider the best interests of individual children in relevant decision-making processes, above all in family law: Article 9: separation from parents; Article 18: parental responsibilities for their children; Article 20: deprivation of family environment; and Article 21: adoption. ...and in relation to juvenile justice: Article 37 (c): separation from adults in detention; and Article 40 (2)(b)(iii): presence of parents at court hearings for penal matters involving a juvenile.