ABSTRACT
By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Council of Europe was able to declare that: ‘Children are holders of rights, rather than just objects of protection. The principle of the welfare of the child – or, more accurately, the upgrading of its operational functions – has consistently provided the single most effective form of leverage in raising the salience of children’s interests relative to all other considerations. The evolving interpretation of the principle of the welfare of the child and the greater legal weight assigned to it reflect the corresponding changes in the relationship between state and family: the balance between consensual and coercive state intervention; between criminal and civil jurisdictions; between the interests of parent and child; and, ultimately, between the child as the subject and as a full party to decisions affecting his or her welfare.
