Child Protection and the European Court of Human Rights: Lessons from Norway in the Development and Contestation of Children's Rights

by Hege Stein Helland (Editor), Marit Skivenes (Editor), Siri Gloppen (Editor)

Overview

Article 1 of the European Convention of Human Rights gives children the same protection of their fundamental rights and freedoms as adults. However, there is a notable absence of specific provisions for their rights. What does this imply in practice?

This interdisciplinary volume brings together leading scholars in political science, law, social work and more to examine how the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) shapes – and is shaped by – child protection litigation and mobilisation.

Norway has had more child protection cases decided by the ECtHR than any other country, and so this book, a first of its kind, uses Norway as a specific focus and explores the evolving role of the Court in balancing parental rights, state authority and children’s best interests, offering a fresh perspective on the intersection of international human rights law, children’s rights and child protection policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781447371472
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	11/11/2025
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Hege Stein Helland is Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Government and the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism at the University of Bergen.

Marit Skivenes is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Government and the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism at the University of Bergen.

Siri Gloppen is Professor of Political Science at the Department of Government and the Centre for Law & Social Transformation at the University of Bergen.

Table of Contents

1. Children’s Rights Under Pressure: Norway, the European Court of Human Rights, and the Challenges to Welfare State Legitimacy - Hege Stein Helland, Marit Skivenes and Siri Gloppen

Part 1: The European Court of Human Rights from a national perspective

2. Are the child welfare cases against Norway in the European Court of Human Rights unique? - Marius Emberland

3. Child Protection and the European Court of Human Rights – the case of Finland and Article 8 - Raija Huhtanen and Tarja Pösö

4. Children's rights and the ECtHR judgements’ effects on Norwegian Courts and jurisprudence - Kirsten Sandberg

5. Implementing International Human Rights Case Law at the Domestic Street-Level: The Case of Norwegian Child Protection - Hege Stein Helland

6. Representations of children in ECtHR judgments - Katrin Križ and Daniela Reimer

7. Exploring ethnicity constructs in ECtHR judgments - Daniela Reimer, Katrin Križ, Mary Burns, Gabriela Serra, and Kerry Shea

Part 2: Transnational influence of the European Court of Human Rights

8. Prioritising the Child’s Best Interests: Mixed Messages in the International Human Rights Arena - Elaine E. Sutherland

9. Think of the Children! Children’s Rights as the New Frontier in Anti-gender Contestation - Neil Datta

10. When “Bad Friends” Lobby the Court against Human Rights - Asgeir Falch-Eriksen

11. Mobilised Interests, the ECtHR and Children's Rights - Rachel Cichowski and Elizabeth Chrun

Part 3: The European Court of Human Rights and its jurisprudence

12. Children and Rights to Identity at the European Court of Human Rights - Jill Marshall

13. Normative considerations about the guiding principles for the European Court of Human Rights allocating custody in child protection - David Archard and Marit Skivenes

14. The Relationship Between the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and The European Court of Human Rights in Numbers - Claire Fenton-Glynn

15. The European Court of Human Rights – an untapped source for advancing child rights? - Hege Stein Helland, Marit Skivenes and Siri Gloppen

Editorial Reviews

This is an important book which considers the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence in child protection matters. This is an area that has largely been overlooked.” Samantha Davey, University of Essex

From the Publisher