Bringing Rights Home for Children: Transparency and the Child's Right to Respect for Private Life

ALISTAIR MACDONALD, Barrister, St Philips Chambers, Birmingham

For vulnerable children, the issue of the precise ambit of their right to respect for private life, and the manner in which that right co-exists with the right to freedom of expression, has been thrown into sharp relief by the new Children, Schools and Families Bill. The Bill begins with the following words from the Secretary of State, 'In my view the provisions of the Children, Schools and Families Bill are compatible with Convention Rights.' However, those parts of the Bill which deal with the publication of information relating to family proceedings, when measured against the requirements of Art 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 (ECHR), call into question whether the view of the Secretary of State is in fact correct.

To read the rest of this article, see February [2010] Family Law journal.

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