PROTECTION OF THE RIGHT OF THE CHILD TO ATTEND JOINTS IN LIGHT OF THE RESTRICTIONS CONSEQUENT TO THE COVID PANDEMIA - 19

This essay examines the impact that the numerous and complex provisional rules related to the Covid-19 pandemic, which have occurred over time, have had in regulating family relationships. In particular, it analyses the influence that these rules have exercised, on the one hand, on the relationships between parents and children in the context of the family crisis and, on the other hand, the limits imposed on children as regards visiting relatives, as a consequence of the restrictions introduced on freedom of movement and on meetings between non-cohabiting people. This paper also deals with the application of these provisional rules carried out by the Courts, in order to assess their compatibility with the fundamental interests of the child. © 2022 Ibero-American Law Institute. All rights reserved.

Homeschooling in Österreich in problematischen Kontexten

ZusammenfassungSeit der Corona-Krise nehmen die Skepsis gegenüber dem staatlichen Schulwesen und die Abmeldungen zum häuslichen Unterricht in Österreich stark zu – die Zahlen haben sich zuletzt verdreifacht. Innerhalb des Homeschooling-Milieus gibt es sehr unterschiedliche Formen der konkreten Ausgestaltung des Unterrichts zuhause. Es besteht zudem eine große Bandbreite an Ideologien unter den „Homeschoolern", die nicht alle gleichermaßen als problematisch einzustufen sind. Es gibt jedoch Gruppierungen und Strömungen innerhalb der Bewegung, die klar dem rechtsesoterischen Spektrum zuzuordnen sind und deren Kritik am Bildungs- und Gesundheitssystem massive staats- und wissenschaftsfeindliche sowie verschwörungsideologische Züge aufweist. Auch in religiös-fundamentalistischen Gruppen, wie z. B. in Freikirchen und sektenähnlichen Gemeinschaften, kann die Inanspruchnahme des Rechts auf Heimunterricht problematisch sein, etwa wenn Kinder von der Außenwelt abgeschottet streng religiös und autoritär erzogen und indoktriniert werden. Der Artikel widmet sich zunächst dem rechtlichen Rahmen und aktuellen Entwicklungen beim häuslichen Unterricht in Österreich, um dann anhand eines Fallbeispiels zu verdeutlichen, wie dieses Recht von ideologisch problematischen Gruppierungen missbraucht wird. Die Autor:innen plädieren dafür, die Kontrollrechte der Behörden auszubauen, um dem Kindeswohlvorrangigkeitsprinzip Geltung zu verschaffen.Alternate :Since the Corona crisis, skepticism towards the Austrian public school system has risen and the unschooling movement has gained popularity. Recently, the numbers of children in homeschooling settings has tripled. Within the homeschooling milieu, a wide range of teaching designs and ideologies can be identified that are not equally problematic. However, groups and various tendencies can be found within this movement that are clearly affiliated with right-wing esotericism: Their criticism of the education and health system contains massive anti-state, anti-science and conspiracy theorist features. In religious fundamentalist groups, such as free churches and sectarian communities, home schooling can also be problematic when children are educated and indoctrinated in a strictly religious and authoritarian manner, isolated from the outside world. The article first looks at the legal framework and current developments in home schooling in Austria, followed by a case study to illustrate how this right is misused by ideologically problematic groups. The authors argue that the authorities' rights of control should be expanded in order to enforce the principle of priority of the best interests of the child.

Vavřička and Others v. The Czech Republic

For the Court, this conclusion was bolstered by the observations that vaccination was not administered against the will of the applicants;that there is no consensus between member states over a single model to achieve the highest level of vaccination;that the introduction of a legal duty to vaccinate children raises sensitive moral or ethical issues;and that the case concerns matters of healthcare policy (paras. 276–79). [...]the Court considered that the measure satisfied the proportionality test. Furthermore, the Court underlined the temporal nature of the exclusion, as all children—also when not vaccinated—can still be enrolled in primary school (para. 307). [...]the Court concluded that the Czech Republic had not overstepped its margin of appreciation and consequently that there was no violation of the right to private life (paras. 310–11). [...]the Court held, also by sixteen votes to one, that it was unnecessary to examine separately the complaints of the five child applicants under Article 2, Protocol No. 1 in light of the previous findings under Article 8 (para. 345).

New York State Creates New Governance of Commercial Gestational Surrogacy.

United States law recognizes adult reproductive liberty and many states view surrogacy services through that lens. During the COVID-19 pandemic in March, 2020, New York State enacted the Child-Parent Surrogacy Act (CPSA) into law, after feminists and their allies had caused its defeat in 2019. Just before approval of the CPSA, a group of legislators introduced the Alternative Surrogacy Bill (ASB). This article is a case study that examines how the CPSA and not the ASB became law, examining surrogate rights, the best interests of the child, and the ethical issues related to adult donor-conceived and surrogacy born children's rights to information about their ancestry.