ABSTRACT

This essay addresses the meaning of the term “best interest of the child,” which serves as one of the core principles reflected throughout the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and which Article 3 requires to be “a primary consideration” in all legal and administrative actions. The essay notes the complexity of ascertaining a child’s best interest in the broad range of legal contexts in which it is pressed, and the importance of considering not only where children’s interests lie, but also who should decide this and by what process. It also compares the interpretation and application of children’s “best interests” under the Convention to its interpretation and application in the United States, where the Convention has not been ratified.