Assessing the Competence of the Child in Public Law Proceedings

Introduction

The representation of children in public law proceedings in general works on a tandem model of a children’s guardian and a solicitor for the children. This provides a balance of welfare and legal support for children to ensure that the best interests of the children are clearly presented to the court.

In situations where the child’s wishes and feelings conflict with the recommendations of the children’s guardian, consideration is given to separate representation of a competent child by their solicitor alone.

This virtual classroom seminar will provide an overview of the approach taken to assess a child’s competence and the relevant factors to be considered.

The live session will enhance your knowledge and improve your confidence to assess whether a child is competent to provide separate instructions, should the need arise.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• The role of the solicitor for the child in assessing the competence of a child
• The factors that should be considered when assessing competence
• When to instruct an expert to assess the competence of a child
• A review of relevant caselaw

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.