.png){kind=icon}
Parental responsibility
- Is it possible to talk about parental duties and responsibilities without also talking about parental rights?
- Do you consider the lack of a statutory definition of parental responsibility problematic? How might a statutory definition be used?
- Are the Law Commission’s original reasons for withholding automatic parental responsibility from unmarried fathers any longer convincing? How would you reform the current law to achieve equality between all parents?
- Do you agree with Harris and George that there is a connection between the courts’ approach to parental responsibility orders and their approach to orders about children’s living arrangements? Is such a link appropriate?
- Should there be a duty to consult and agree on all matters falling within the scope of parental responsibility? Is the courts’ current approach defensible?
- Would you have reached the same decision as Hedley J in Re Wyatt (A Child) (Medical Treatment: Parents’ Consent)? What factors would you have found particularly persuasive in reaching your decision?