THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD IN THE CASE LAW OF THE EUROPEAN COURTS: EXPERIENCE FOR EU MEMBER STATES AND CANDIDATE COUNTRIES

Abstract

The protection of the rights of the child is a universal, global issue in the modern world. In a democratic society, a certain
minimum standard of children’s rights protection must be warrantied and ensured regardless of national specificities. A number of
international mechanisms have been created by the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. The EU Member
States jointly respect the universal values of human dignity, freedom, equality, solidarity, and democracy as adopted in the Charter of
Fundamental Rights of the EU. An integral part of this standard is being developed through the relevant EU legal acts and caselaw. They
form part of the general principles of EU law and should also be considered binding in the acceding countries. The role of the European
Court of Human Rights, as well as the Court of Justice of the European Union, is essential in the interpretation of child rights in Europe
and in raising the standard for their protection. The purpose of this article is a comparative study of the practice of two European courts on
child rights, as well as the child rights protection system in Lithuania, a Member State of the European Union, and Georgia, a potential
candidate country. This research provides conclusions as to what similar and different approaches exist in the two European courts and
what is important for Georgia when approaching these standards in the process of European integration.