Children’s participation in their LVU process, through the expression of opinion and the provision of information : A comparison between applicable law and its application

In cases where a child's guardian's actions entail a significant risk of the child's health or development being harmed, the public may in certain cases forcibly care for the child. In these cases, it is no longer the guardians who decide what is best for the child, but that responsibility has been taken over by the public. A question that arises concerning public responsibility in these cases, is how and to what extent children's own opinions and provided information should be taken into account when the issue of forcible care is to be decided in court? The purpose of the thesis is, therefore, to investigate how children's right to express their opinions and provide information has an impact on the administrative courts' handling of applications for preparation of care according to § 2 the law (1990:52) with special regulations on the care of young people (LVU), and how this relates to the regulation regarding these rights. The regulations and guidelines that exist regarding children's right to express opinions and provide information in cases concerning the preparation of care according to LVU, are therefore established and to some extent analyzed within the theses. These frameworks will therefore be the yardstick against which an empirical study will be measured. The empirical study examines to what extent and in what way children aged 12–14 years present opinions and provide information to the Administrative Court's judgment, in cases where the social welfare board has applied for care based on § 2 LVU. It also examines the extent to which these opinions and this information appear in the court's reasons for judgment. A comparison between the applicable law regarding children's right to express opinions and provide information in cases concerning the preparation of care according to LVU, and the application of it in administrative law when the court has to decide on the issue of caring for a 12–14-year-old according to § 2 LVU can now be done. Through the comparison, the purpose of the thesis is achieved. In general, it can be said that children's right to be heard, both by expressing opinions and providing information, is fulfilled in the practical application of the legal regulation of this right. This also seems to be the general case of how the court treats information provided by a child in the reasons for the judgment. On the other hand, the statutory obligation for a court to deal with children's ex- pressed views and attitudes does not seem to be maintained in the administrative court's handling of applications for the provision of care under § 2 LVU. Further, it should also be noticed that children more often provide information, than express their opinions