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

See all articles by Shauna Van Praagh

Shauna Van Praagh

McGill University - Faculty of Law

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

Van Praagh, Shauna, Magie, Contes Et Sortilèges - Le Droit À L'Écoute De L'Enfant (Magic, Spells and Tales - The Right to Hear from the Child) (July 5, 2012). B. Moore, C. Bideau-Cayre and V. Lemay, eds, La Représentation de L'enfant Devant les Tribunaux (Montréal:Thémis, 2009) 71, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2101332

Shauna Van Praagh (Contact Author)

McGill University - Faculty of Law ( email )

3644 Peel Street
Montreal H3A 1W9, Quebec H3A 1W9
Canada

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