CHILDREN'S RIGHTS IN SCOTLAND. Ed by Alison Cleland and Elaine E Sutherland Edinburgh: W Green, 3rd edn, 2009. xivii + 392 pp. ISBN 9780414015906. £45.

DOI10.3366/elr.2011.0013
Date01 January 2011
Pages153-154
Published date01 January 2011

That there is a third edition of this book, first published in 1996, and that it contains so much new material, is evidence if such were needed that children's rights continue to be a “dynamic and evolving” (para 3–44) aspect of Scots law and Scottish society. The book is a balance between the familiar and the new, combining updated topics by existing authors, together with additional chapters and new contributors.

Although the focus of this collection is Scots law, its analysis is situated firmly within an international context, “highlighting the extent to which the European Convention on Human Rights … and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child … have had an impact in Scotland” (para 1–01). In chapter 3, John Grant and Elaine Sutherland set out in helpful detail the international legal framework for Scots law, and in the final chapter, there is up to date analysis of the monitoring and enforcing of children's international human rights. Both of these contributions establish the European and international context against which the other contributions, dealing with particular aspects of children's rights, can assess “how close Scots law has come to real and meaningful compliance with international standards” (para 3–44).

In some chapters, there have been significant changes in statute since the second edition; most obviously in chapter 8 which sets out the new framework for adoption provided by the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007. The downside of the dynamic nature of law is highlighted in chapter 4 where, as Kay Tisdall herself anticipates, the new edition is already to some extent out of date. The previous “plethora” of anti-discrimination legislation (para 4–12) which she outlines, has been replaced by the new Equality Act 2010. The real value of this chapter, however, is in the insightful approach it brings to issues of equal opportunities for children in Scotland. This is particularly welcome as it is an area where there is little research or case law focussing specifically on children.

In other chapters, although the statutory framework has remained fairly constant, there have been some amendments and there have been notable developments in case law. This is reflected, for example, in two contributions which focus on the operation of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995: chapter 5 where Elaine Sutherland considers Part I of the Act as it applies to the care of the child within the family and chapter 7 where Kenneth Norrie...

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