Children's voices, adults' choices : the voice of the child through the Guardian ad litem in child care proceedings in the Irish District Courts

Abstract

Provision for hearing children’s wishes and feelings and according them due weight in judicial and administrative matters that affect them is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In relation to child care proceedings, children may be afforded an opportunity to have their wishes and feelings heard under the Irish Child Care Act 1991. While there are a number of ways in which children’s wishes may be represented to the court in such proceedings, this study focusses on how children are heard through the Guardian ad litem. A Guardian ad litem is an independent representative appointed by the court to represent the wishes and feelings and promote the best interests of the child. Their remit to represent only the child, and their independence from all parties to the proceedings, makes them a particularly suitable mechanism for examining how children are heard.