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image from park in Malmö, by Patrik Lundberg

Anna Lundberg

Head of department

image from park in Malmö, by Patrik Lundberg

(How) do Children’s Rights to Participation take form in custody cases? The illusion of an institutional and legal framework safeguarding the child’s perspective

(Hur) tar barns rätt till delaktighet form i vårdnadstvister? Illusionen av ett institutionellt och rättsligt ramverk som säkrar barnets perspektiv.

Author

  • Anna Sonander
  • Anna Lundberg

Editor

  • Anna Sonander
  • Mimi Petersen
  • Per Wickenberg

Summary, in English

Starting from the premise that child participation is an individual right, this chapter exposes the institutional challenges and contradictions that shape how professionals navigate children’s voices in Swedish custody disputes. Based on judge interviews and court observations, we find that direct child involvement remains rare—decisions rely on proxies such as parental testimony and social-services reports—revealing a gap between legal ideals and courtroom practice. This ‘trial by proxy’ both shields children from conflict and effectively silences them, while divergent readings of ‘best interests’ within Sweden’s civil-law culture skew outcomes. Despite recent reforms elevating a child-rights perspective, participation remains conditional, dependent on age and maturity assessments. The chapter concludes by calling for a critical discussion about different perspectives on children’s participation in practice, and how their interaction shapes the effective protection and advancement of children’s rights in legal proceedings.

Department/s

  • Sociology of Law Department
  • LU Profile Area: Human rights

Publishing year

2026-09-29

Language

English

Pages

131-144

Publication/Series

Building a Sustainable Society Through Child Participation : Nordic Research and Practical Application

Document type

Book chapter

Publisher

Springer

Topic

  • Law
  • Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Anthropology, Demography and Criminology)

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISBN: 978-3-032-04535-5
  • ISBN: 978-3-032-04534-8
  • ISBN: 978-3-032-04537-9