The dynamic life of Child Rights in three legal cultures. A comparative analysis of child custody cases

​Research problem and specific questionsThe project examines children´s rights in custody cases in Sweden with a Western legal culture, Egypt whose legal culture is characterised by Sharia law, and Uzbekistan which is characterised by a hybrid legal culture with Soviet, Western and Islamic elements.

The aim is to analyse how children’s rights are understood and utilised by professionals in different legal cultures and what impact this has for the children concerned and broader social development.

Research questionsHow do social workers, judges and other legal professionals and non-state actors involved in custody cases describe and utilise child rights?On which premises and references do they base their arguments - legislation, precedent, religious norms, children’s and parents’ views, human rights instruments etc?

What similarities and differences can be identified in the three cases, how can these be understood from a comparative approach?Based on the answers to question 1-3 what are the implications for child rights in the justice system?

Data and methodThe project analyses court cases, documentation of court proceedings and interviews with judges and other professionals such as social workers and lawyers.

The comparative approach enables an indepth analysis and understanding by juxtaposing each case with the others.Societal relevance and utilisationThe CRC is an international human rights treaty that leaves room for discretion.

Professional groups therefore have gret influence on the meaning of the concept of child rights in practice, and thus on the conditions for children whose rights are to be taken into account in custody cases.

In this context, the cultures of professionals performing specialised legal tasks are relevant to explore (internal legal culture).

Social and cultural factors influencing broader understandings of children’s rights in practice and its intersections with internal legal culture, are also relevant (external legal culture).

This research contributes with knowledge that may create better conditions for taking children’s rights into account in courts.Plan for project realisationThe study spans over three years and is a collaboration between four sociolegal researchers who will work 20-30 percent in the project. They have a unique competence, who have more than ten years of experience in child rights research.

The researchers will collaborate closely and disseminate results to academic journals as well as the broader public.