Making Law for Children in Scotland: Turning Commitment into Reality

This note discusses ongoing developments in Scottish law concerning children and the creation of more Children’s Rights-based legislation in Scotland. Two steps being taken by the Scottish Government are considered. The first of these is the current Children (Scotland) Bill, which is intended to modernise and render more child-centred certain aspects of Family Law. The second step is the commitment to introducing, imminently, a further Bill to fully incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scottish Law. The discussion below is distilled from the author’s recent report, Balancing the Rights of Parents and Children, commissioned by the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee