The Representation of the Legal Interests of Children and Adolescents in Germany: A Study of the Children’s Guardian from a Child’s Perspective

Abstract

In 1998, the children's guardian was introduced into German law as a new legal institution to represent interests of children and young people in certain family and guardianship court proceedings. Until now, there has not been realized any comprehensive investigation about the perception of children and young people themselves about the new figure. This study focuses on the understanding of 52 children and young people concerning the guardian's role and their satisfaction with the representation. To a large extent, most children formulated appropriate and differentiated conceptions of the role and duty of the children's guardian even if there were a few uncertainties. Furthermore, most children reported on many positive and satisfying aspects, although individual aspects were designated as problematic.