CHILD REMOVAL - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

V družinskem pravu velja načelo avtonomije družine, zato morajo za otroke in njihovo vzgojo ter varstvo primarno poskrbeti njihovi starši. Država zato posega v družinska razmerja le v izjemnih primerih, če starši ogrožajo otrokove koristi. Odvzem otroka staršem je tisti skrajni ukrep, katerega se sodišča in pa centri za socialno delo poslužujejo le redko, saj z njim otroka izločijo iz družine. Ker zakon dopušča možnost, da o ukrepu odvzema otroka odločata dva organa- sodišče v pravdnem postopku in center za socialno delo v upravnem postopku, se lahko zgodi, da se njuna pristojnost velikokrat prekriva. Otrok mora imeti v postopku zagotovljene vse pravice, ki mu jih zagotavlja mednarodno pravo, tako da so njegove koristi, kar se da najbolje zavarovane. V upravnem postopku, v katerem odloča center za socialno delo, pa zakonodaja otroku ne omogoča takšnih pravic, kot mu jih zagotavlja sodni postopek. Zato bi bilo, v primeru odločanja o ukrepu odvzema otroka, potrebno dati prednost sodišču. Center za socialno delo bi moral še naprej izvajati ukrepe, s katerimi bi preprečeval ogrožanje otrok (prva pomoč družini, reševanje sporov v družini, pomoč pri varstvu in vzgoji), ukrepe za varstvo otrokovih koristi, vključno z odvzemom otroka, pa bi bilo potrebno prenesti na sodišča.In family law, the principle of the respect of family autonomy is paramount, thus parents are primary caretakers for children and responsible for their upbringing. The state interferes only in exceptional cases where interests of the child are neglected by the parents. The last resort is to remove a child from his/her homebecause of its drastic consequence law courts and social work centres only rarely use it. Legislation provides two procedures for the removal of a child from the home: judicial proceedings at the court of law and administrative procedure by the social work centre. Due to this dichotomy, it may happen that their jurisdiction often overlaps. The procedure should guarantee all the rights of the child granted by international law in order to protect the best interests of the child. According to current legislation, the administrative procedure applied by the social work centre does not yield the same rights as the judicial proceedings. In the case of the removal of a child from the home, it would therefore be necessary to give priority to judicial proceedings. Social work centre should continue to implement prevention measures (i.e. family emergency assistance, family conflict resolution, assistance in upbringing), on the other hand, measures for the protection of children, including the removal of a child from the home, should be transferred to the law courts