The concept of the child's best interests is recognised in a number of EU legal and policy documents However, its exact legal nature in EU law remains uncertain. Is it a general principle of EU law, a 'mere' legal principle, an 'ordinary' EU rule granting a fundamental right, or something else? This chapter sets out to demonstrate that there are strong arguments suggesting that the concept of the child's best interests can be viewed as a (constituent part of a) general principle of EU law. This has an interpretative and gap-filling function, which has enabled the evolution of EU law and its expansion to a new category of internal situations, which previously used to be outside the scope of EU law.
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Front Matter
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PART I: FOUNDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES FROM INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW
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PART II: COMPETENCES
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PART III: STRUCTURAL AND FORMAL CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES
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PART IV: CONSTITUTIONAL FOUNDING VALUES
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PART V: EQUAL TREATMENT AND NON-DISCRIMINATION
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PART VI: FREE MOVEMENT AND INTERNAL MARKET
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PART VII: PRIVATE LAW
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PART VIII: AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY AND JUSTICE
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PART IX: EXTERNAL RELATIONS
