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This article reports on the findings of a 2009 survey conducted under the auspices of the Childwatch International Research Network about how children’s participation rights, as set out in Articles 12 and 13 of the UNCRC, are respected in private family law proceedings internationally. Court-based and alternative dispute resolution processes and the roles of relevant professionals engaged in child-inclusive practices are considered, as well as religious, indigenous and customary law methods of engaging with children. The findings from the 13 participating countries confirm an increasing international commitment to enhancing children’s participation in family law decision-making, but depict a wide variety of approaches being used to achieve this. Case studies from Australia, India, Israel and New Zealand are included to illustrate differing models of children’s participation currently in use in decision-making processes following parental separation.

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Legislation is one of the most important tools for empowering children. Recent years have seen several key developments in the law, policy, and practice related to child rights. Significantly, with the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, a rights-based approach has acquired prominence in the child rights discourse across the world. The book analyses the laws in the light of court judgments and policy initiatives taken in India. It also examines the interventions and strategies employed by non-governmental organizations in recommending legislative reforms in support of children. This fully revised third edition focuses on the new legal developments in India—such as the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; the new Central Adoption Resource Agency guidelines; the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009; and the National Food Security Act, 2013—thus attempting to integrate the law in theory and field practice. It is clear that realization of the rights of the child calls for a well defined, child friendly, national movement involving individuals, ad masses, peoples and societies, families and communities, states, and nations. Awareness of child rights by stakeholders is crucial.