The Role of the Commissioner for Children's Rights in Providing Assistance in Resolving Family Disputes About Children (On the Example of the Irkutsk Region)

Abstract

The article describes the content of the activities of the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Irkutsk region on issues of assistance in resolving family disputes. Statistical information for 2017-2021 is analyzed, revealing the structure of the topic and the reasons for appeals to the regional children's Ombudsman, taken from annual reports on the observance of the rights and legitimate interests of children in the Irkutsk region. It emphasizes terminological diversity and absence of basic legal concepts and principles, vagueness of their formulations in the Russian legislation regulating intra-family relations such as «child», «child interest», «the principle of the presumption of good faith of parents», «family disputes». The main conclusions of the review of judicial and legal practice in family cases related to the determination of the child’s place of residence when parents are separated, the manner of communication and participation in his or her upbringing are presented. The significance of family mediation in the settlement of family disputes has been disclosed, as has the attitude of the State and society towards its inclusion as an obligatory procedure in Russian legislation. The article analyses the foreign experience of the development of the institute of family mediation and the main tendencies of its development, the effectiveness of the Ombudsmen for the Rights of the Child in foreign countries depending on the model of establishment of their position. The destructive role of gatekeeping in resolving family disputes about children has been shown, the possibility of training a social work specialist as a professional mediator has been substantiated, The article analyses performance of a unique role of the family mediator of the Commissioner for the Rights of the Child in the Irkutsk region due to its specificity of legal and social status in the process of work on appeals of citizens on family disputes about children.