Legal Child Research Articles

Calais ruling: key questions resolved

The government has made changes to settlement arrangements for children moved from Calais camps in 2016/17, says Marianne Lagrue, policy manager at Coram Children's Legal Centre

Rights of Children from Interfaith Marriages: Child Registration Case in Semarang, Indonesia

This paper investigates the rights of children born into interfaith marriages, focusing on child registration in Semarang. In a multicultural society like Indonesia, children from interfaith unions face complex legal and social challenges. This study explores the nuances of child registration in Semarang, addressing the legal framework, social dynamics, and implications for children's rights. Beginning with an overview of Indonesia's legal context, the paper emphasizes the importance of civil registration in establishing a child's legal identity and access to rights and services. It examines the hurdles encountered by interfaith families in navigating registration procedures, including issues of parental consent, religious affiliation, and administrative barriers. The study also delves into the social aspects of child registration in Semarang, analyzing how cultural norms, religious beliefs, and community attitudes shape the registration process and affect children's legal recognition. Challenges such as social stigma, discrimination, and bureaucratic inefficiencies are highlighted as obstacles to obtaining birth certificates and official documentation for children from interfaith backgrounds. Furthermore, the paper discusses the implications of insufficient child registration for children's rights, emphasizing the importance of equal treatment and legal recognition for all children, regardless of their parents' religious affiliations or cultural backgrounds. By examining the child registration case in Semarang, Indonesia, this study contributes to broader discussions on the rights of children from interfaith marriages and advocates for inclusive policies and practices. Addressing legal and social barriers to registration and promoting interfaith dialogue can ensure that every child enjoys their fundamental rights and opportunities for a fulfilling future.

Childhood Use of Coin Pusher and Crane Grab Machines, and Adult Gambling: Robustness to Subjective Confidence in a Young Adult USA Sample.

Gambling as a youth is a risk factor for experiencing gambling-related harm as an adult. Most youth gambling research focuses on illegal engagement with age-restricted products, but youth can also gamble legally, by for example betting with friends, or via coin pusher and crane grab machines. Research has associated recollected rates of usage of these machines as a child with adult gambling participation and problems, but only in the UK and Australia, and has not tested for robustness to subjective confidence. The present study conceptually replicated these prior studies by investigating the association between recollected childhood use of coin push and crane grab machines, and adult gambling behavior, in a young adult USA sample. Participants rated their subjective confidence to test if individual differences in recollection biases provided a better account for any observed associations. Results found high recollected engagement rates for both coin pusher (87.2%) and crane grab machines (97.0%), and 5 of the 6 tested associations between youth machine usage and adult gambling engagement and problems were significant and in the hypothesized direction. Rates of subjective confidence were on average high (83.3 and 89.2 on a 0 to 100 scale), and generally did not interact with participants' recollected rates of machine use. These findings extend prior research on potential public health concerns around children's legal engagement with coin pusher and crane grab machines to a new country, the USA.

Legal Update: Illegal Migration Act – an update

Stewart MacLachlan, legal and policy manager at Coram Children's Legal Centre, assesses the final version of the controversial legislation and its potential impact on children and agencies

Program Pengembangan dan Pemenuhan Hak Anak di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan Tanjung Raja Golongan II A Yang Bertentangan Dengan Hukum

The program for developing and upholding the rights of children associated with the law in class II A Tanjung Raja prison was a topic of concern, and study was conducted as a result for the purpose of addressing it. How tutoring for youth who break the law is implemented in Class II A Tanjung Raja Prison. and How to Comply with Children's Legal Rights in Class II A Children's Correctional Institution Tanjung Raja. The form of sociological legal research, the nature of the descriptive analytical research, and the data used in the study were chosen to explore the aforementioned issues. Primary data was gathered by conducting interviews with relevant individuals, especially prison officers. Explanations and main and secondary legal resources like dictionaries, encyclopedias, and others are the ones with the most precise legal information. Based on the research's findings, specifically: According to Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, coaching of children who are prisoners is oriented to social values, and in the Class IIA Tanjung Raja prison, intramural treatment is carried out, guidance is provided to children who are in conflict with the law. Observation of children's legal rights in Tanjung Raja Class II The construction of a children's prison takes into account the existing infrastructure and amenities, and one of those fulfillments is the ability to allow children to have family visits. Because of worries that it may hinder the spread of Covid 19, the execution of children's rights in Tanjung Raja Prison continues to go well and is approved selectively throughout this epidemic, especially for temporary inmates.

Inheritance of Extramarital Children Determined as Legal Children After the Constitutional Court Decision No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010

<p><span lang="EN">This article analyzes aspects of family law in terms of inheritance of extramarital-children, from legality to implementation, and the role of judicial institutions in protecting the inheritance rights of extramarital-children who have the status of legal children after the Constitutional Court Decision No. 46/PUU-VIII/2010, whose existence was rejected by their biological father</span><span>. </span><span lang="EN">An out-of-wedlock child designated as a legal child is entitled to civil rights from his father, ensuring the fulfillment of the rights of extramarital-children is the responsibility of the parents, governments, and the state. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness and optimize the implementation of the protection of the inheritance rights of extramarital-children who have been determined as legal children by the court as parties. This article uses normative research by referencing several inheritance laws and regulations in force in Indonesia and factual facts. Two approaches are used, the statutory and conceptual, to obtain the desired research results. The findings showed that extramarital-children who were not recognized by the biological father did not have the right to inherit with the biological father as well as the father's family because they did not have a sexual relationship. The Constitutional Court decision only provides space for the recognition of extramarital-children, but the issue of inheritance is returned to the inheritance law in force in Indonesia. Because of their weak position, extramarital-children must be given protection to ensure the fulfillment of children's rights through the provision of mandatory wills from fathers who do not recognize them.</span></p>

Inconsistencies in the Ḥanafī School's View of Children's Legal Competence

This article examines the inconsistencies of the Ḥanafī school of thought regarding the legal capacity of children. The study of this issue is to prove whether or not there is harmony between the legal istinbat method (ushul fiqh) used and the legal product (fikih) created. In fiqh proposal it is determined that children do not have legal capacity so they are freed from all forms of legal imposition (taklif). The problem studied is the inconsistency of children's legal skills and arguments against this problem. This paper is based on qualitative data in the form of books on ushul fiqh and fiqh of thought from the Ḥanafī school of thought. Data is given meaning through verstehen, namely understanding by using a divergent, creative, and innovative mindset so that deeper meaning is found. After that, the data was analyzed using content analysis, namely taking inventory of data, simplifying it, and generalizing it. This is done interactively between the three components; data reduction, data presentation, and data verification. The results of the research show that there is an inconsistency in the Ḥanafī school of thought regarding legal competence. Inconsistency is seen in three ways; the standard has been and has not been the functioning of reason related to the age phases of the child, determining the impact of the benefits and harms contained in legal actions, and the scope of legal subjects. Thoughts on the legal skills of children other than the Ḥanafī school of thought which have not been studied in this paper need further research.

Illegal Migration Bill

policy and programmes manager in the Migrant Children's Project at Coram Children's Legal Centre, assesses the Illegal Migration Bill's impact on children and agencies

Children's Legal Geographies, and the “Make-Believe” of Property

What is a wall to a child? It may be an obstacle course, a balance beam, a “car,” a seat, a home for spiders and ladybugs, a place to play hide and seek, a support to lean on when learning to walk, a perch for cats, a musical instrument to be played with sticks and hands. Rather than just a barrier, the wall can also become an incitement to explore that which lies beyond it. So how does a wall become just a territorial marker—a designation of private property, an imposing boundary line that cuts through space, dividing mine and yours? And what can children's engagement with the boundary, and the legalized attempts to prevent and punish their boundary-crossing, tell us about the social work of private property? In addressing these questions, we aim to take seriously the iterative “why?” of small children when confronted with territorial rules and related violence.

Review of Ukraine schemes

With Homes for Ukraine and other schemes to support Ukrainians having been running for a year, Alison East, senior solicitor at Coram Children's Legal Centre, assesses their successes

Legal Children in Pregnant Marriage: A Juridical Analysis of Indonesian Positive Law

<span>The discourse of pregnant marriage is always interesting to study from a legal perspective, both Islamic and civil law, the different views of the fuqoha and also the controversy in understanding whether or not pregnant marriage is permissible. Different understandings are found in KHI which on one side is a normative backing and on the other side opens the room for adultery. As a result of being pregnant before, it was not a problem because children born during marriage became legal children, regardless of the age of the child's womb when both parents performed the marriage contract, while SE Director General of Islamic Guidance and Hajj Affairs No: D/ED/PW.01/03/1992 Regarding the Instructions for Completing Marriage, Divorce, Divorce and Referral Forms (NTCR), it is stated that a legitimate child is a child born at least more than six months from marriage, if the child born less than six months is interpreted as the child of the mother.One of the requirements for marriage administration is a birth certificate, if the first child is a girl, must be accompanied by a quote from the marriage book of both parents at the time of registration, this is to check the marriage date of both parents and also be equipped with a birth certificate to check when the child was born. So far, even if the birth certificate contains the names of both parents, but when confronted at the time of the examination the child was born less than six months after the marriage contract, the father's name was not listed in the marriage certificate. In line with this, from a legal perspective, the binding force between KHI and the Circular Letter is stronger than the KHI or Circular in the Registration and Implementation of Marriages.</span>

Parent power in EHCPs

Legal ruling affirms parental preference on choosing school placements for children who have education, health and care plans, explains Qaisar Sheikh, head of education law at Coram Children's Legal Centre

SEND Review and green paper

Qaisar Sheikh, head of education law and senior solicitor at Coram Children's Legal Centre, outlines the key proposals and flaws in the government's intended reforms to the special educational needs system

Migrant looked-after children

With one in 10 children in care being non-British, local authorities need to do more to identify and address their needs, says Marianne Lagrue, policy manager at Coram Children's Legal Centre

Rights over exclusions

Machela Boampong, senior paralegal at Coram Children's Legal Centre, and Dr Simon Gallacher, a freelance education research and policy adviser, on an analysis of school exclusions in North Kensington in London

Using the law to uphold vulnerable children's rights and entitlements

It is 40 years since Coram Children's Legal Centre published Locked Up in Care, its first major report. It has championed the rights of marginalised groups of children and is still holding policymakers to account

Care and immigration status

Aayad Lami, solicitor at Coram Children's Legal Centre, explains what support councils should provide to non-British children in care to ensure their immigration issues are identified earlier

Support for Afghan children

Marianne Lagrue, policy manager, Coram Children's Legal Centre, assesses what political upheaval in Afghanistan means for the support that councils should provide to looked-after children and care leavers

Denying refugee children protection

With new asylum legislation going through parliament, Joyinola Layonu, legal and policy assistant at the Migrant Children's Project at Coram Children's Legal Centre, looks at concerns for children's rights

Protecting children's data

Rosalyn Akar Grams, head of legal practice at Coram Children's Legal Centre, assesses the implications of a landmark legal case over an alleged data breach for the protection of children's digital information