Talking About Children's Rights: Children?s Interests in Judicial Custody and Visitation Decision-Making

Abstract

This article reviews a book that has made an important contribution by assisting judges when they make decisions regarding visitation and custody issues. The book, Legal and Mental Health Perspectives on Child Custody Law: A Deskbook for Judges, provides a framework to help judges make child-centric decisions regarding important emotional and legal decisions after considering all the facts. Woodhouse reviews the book with a special eye towards the rights of the child, and highlights the relative absence of discussion of children?s rights. This article also investigates the re-interpretation of 'best interest of the child' from a children's rights perspective, which results in better judicial decisions and empowers both the parents and the child in the process.