ABSTRACT
We are concerned, in this chapter, with questions that arise in the conflict of laws concerning children. English law has a very large volume of legislation concerning children;1 the legislation concerns not only the status of children and their relationship with their parents but, also, the duties and responsibilities of State agencies.This legislation has been growing in volume and importance in the 20th century.2 In the conflict of laws, we are concerned with questions about the status of the child and where the child should live. A number of problems concerning children arise in the context of disputes about succession. It is intended, in this chapter, to examine five topics, namely: (a) legitimacy; (b) legitimation; (c) adoption; (d) custody; and (e) declarations. Although there are detailed statutory rules in respect of each of these matters, it should be borne in mind that, in most questions directly relating to children, the judge in England will normally be obliged to regard the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration;3 where a different statutory provision has been enacted, then it is often indistinguishable from this general principle.4
