Magie, Contes Et Sortilèges - Le Droit À L'Écoute De L'Enfant (Magic, Spells and Tales - The Right to Hear from the Child)
B. Moore, C. Bideau-Cayre and V. Lemay, eds, La Représentation de L'enfant Devant les Tribunaux (Montréal:Thémis, 2009) 71
8 Pages Posted: 7 Jul 2012 Last revised: 10 Jul 2012
Date Written: July 5, 2012
Abstract
This paper, part of a collection devoted to the representation of children before courts in Quebec and France, turns to children’s literature for responsive ways in which the law can and must listen to children. The Report of the Quebec Bar on legal representation of children grapples with the tensions between vulnerability and dependence on one hand, and responsibility and will on the other. So does the Harry Potter series. As an example of stories for children that help us understand the stories children tell, Harry Potter books illustrate the evolution of capacity and autonomy throughout adolescence. Law’s appreciation of that lesson ensures that the voice of young people remains central even as the responsibilities of the adults and institutions that support them are necessarily flexible.
Note: Downloadable document is in French.
Keywords: children, children rights, children and the law, court representation of children
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation