Child and Family Law

Child and Family Law research at Stirling has played a key role in shaping the law at both domestic and international level.

Our experts have contributed to a wide range of national and international law bodies, including the UN Convention on Rights of the Child Incorporation Advisory Group; the Scottish Law Commission; the British Academy’s Childhood Policy Programme; the ‘Kilbrandon Again’ inquiry, jointly commissioned by the Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland and Action for Children and the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

The opportunity to contribute to these influential bodies means our research is enhancing care for young people, addressing injustices in the system, and ensuring the rights of children and families continue to advance in a positive direction.

Our published work has been utilised by courts in the UK and by the Court of Justice of the European Union, the US Supreme Court and other courts in many parts of the world.

Related staff

Domestic Child and Family Law and Human Rights

Associate Professor Katie Boyle

Dr Michelle Donnelly

Emerita Professor Elaine Sutherland

Private International Law of Child and Family Law

Professor Paul Beaumont

Dr Jayne Holliday

Related outputs

The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction

Beaumont P and McEleavy P, (1999) The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. First ed. Oxford Monographs in Private International Law. Oxford: OUP.

Private International Law: AE Anton

Beaumont P and McEleavy P, Private International Law: A E Anton, (3rd edn, 2011, W Green)

The Recovery of Maintenance in the EU and Worldwide

Beaumont P, Spancken S, Walker L and Hess B, The Recovery of Maintenance in the EU and Worldwide, (2014, Hart)

International Surrogacy Arrangements Legal Regulation at the International Level

Beaumont P and Trimmings K, International Surrogacy Arrangements Legal Regulation at the International Level (2013, Hart)

Economic and Social Rights Law: Incorporation, Justiciability and Principles of Adjudication

Boyle K, Economic and Social Rights Law: Incorporation, Justiciability and Principles of Adjudication (2020, Routledge)

The Right to an Effective Remedy and Accountability in the Privatisation of Public Services: United nations convention on the rights of the child (incorporation) (Scotland) bill

Boyle K, The Right to an Effective Remedy and Accountability in the Privatisation of Public Services: United nations convention on the rights of the child (incorporation) (Scotland) bill, (2020) European Human Rights Law Review (6) 610-623

The First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership: A New Path Forward on Incorporation of Economic, Social Cultural and Environmental Rights

Boyle K, The First Minister’s Advisory Group on Human Rights Leadership: A New Path Forward on Incorporation of Economic, Social Cultural and Environmental Rights, (2019) European Human Rights Law Review, 4, 361-373

A Tripartite Analysis of the Grounds of Referral to Children's Hearings

Donnelly M, A Tripartite Analysis of the Grounds of Referral to Children's Hearings (2019) Juridical Review 117 – 135

Adopting The Children of Irreproachable Parents? The convention compatibility of the welfare ground for dispensing with parental consent to adoption

Donnelly M, Adopting the children of irreproachable parents? The convention compatibility of the welfare ground for dispensing with parental consent to adoption, (2015) Juridical Review, (3) 215 – 243

The Supreme Court and the Welfare Ground for Dispensing with Parental Consent to Adoption: ANS and Another v ML (Scotland)

Donnelly M, The Supreme Court and the Welfare Ground for Dispensing with Parental Consent to Adoption: ANS and Another v ML (Scotland), (2014) International Family Law 110-112

The Urgent need for the UK to accept the accessions of EU and Non-EU Contracting Parties to the 1970 Hague Convention on Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations

Holliday J, The Urgent need for the UK to accept the accessions of EU and Non-EU Contracting Parties to the 1970 Hague Convention on Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations (Stirling Working Paper Series, 2019)

Recent developments on the meaning of “habitual residence” in alleged child abduction cases

Beaumont P and Holliday J, Recent developments on the meaning of “habitual residence” in alleged child abduction cases, Private International Law in the Jurisprudence of European Courts - Family at Focus, (2015, Pravos) 39-58

Conflicts of EU courts on child abduction: the reality of Article 11(6)-(8) Brussels IIa proceedings across the EU

Beaumont, Walker and Holliday, Conflict of EU Courts on child abduction: the reality of article 11(6)-(8) Brussels IIa proceedings across the EU, (2016) Journal of Private International Law 211-260

Protecting the Rights of the Child. Amending the child abduction provisions under Brussels IIa Regulation

Holliday J, Protecting the Rights of the Child. Amending the child abduction provisions under Brussels IIa Regulation’ (2016) International Family Law, 38-39

Implementing Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Best Interests, Welfare and Well-being

Sutherland E, Implementing Article 3 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Best Interests, Welfare and Well-being (2016, Cambridge University Press)

Family: Teaming up to Zoom in on marriage

Sutherland E, Family: Teaming up to Zoom in on marriage (2020) Journal of the Law Society of Scotland, 66 (3)

Making Scotland 'the best place in the world to grow up'?

Sutherland E, Making Scotland 'the best place in the world to grow up'? (2020) International Survey of Family Law, 215-238

Unmarried cohabitation

Sutherland E, ‘Unmarried cohabitation’ in Eekelaar J, George R, (Eds) Routledge Handbook of Family Law and Policy (2020, Routledge) 61-70