The Legal Status and Functions of Custody and Guardianship Authorities

Abstract

Review. This article considers models of developing custody and guardianship authorities in Russia: 1) state model - as executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, 2) mixed model - as local government with delegated public powers of guardianship, 3) municipal - as local government with their own powers of guardianship. The study found that the practice of legal regulation in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation gravitates towards a mixed model of developing custody and guardianship authorities, but the process of choosing a model has not been completed so far. The author raises a question of the regulatory and control role at the federal level of child protection in the light of the Russian-American relations on the international adoption of children. At an international level the author also considers a municipal model of the guardianship authorities in several European countries, characterized by giving broad powers to local governments on guardianship, and lack of state control. The author criticizes this model by virtue of the exclusion of the state's responsibility for ensuring children 's rights. The author proves the necessity for the approval of the public nature of guardianship authorities, which is connected with their importance for the promotion of human rights, particularly of such a special subject of humanitarian relations as a child. The main functions of the child protection services allocated depending on the entity whose rights require protection are considered. They include: adult citizens, adjudged incapable or limited in legal capacity; minors: a) being brought up in a family, b) being in a difficult situation, c) deprived of parental care, d) deprived of parental care and arranged in families. The author concludes that the scope of powers of custody and guardianship authorities and mechanisms for ensuring children's rights vary depending on the category of minors, as various groups of children require various measures for ensuring their rights. The limits of authority of the custody and guardianship authorities are revealed in the light of the principle of the inadmissibility of arbitrary interference in family matters.