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In the Name of The Father, The Child and The Holy Genes

Constructions of ‘The Child's Best Interest’ in Legal Disputes Over Contact

Mai Heide Ottosen

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

The enforcement of family law is a significant actor in the welfare state's regulation of the domestic sphere. This article analyses how the child and different conceptions about children's welfare become constructed through the legal proceedings and decisions when divorced or separated parents have disputes over contact with their children: who is allowed to speak during the proceedings and which arguments about what is best for the child are considered as valid? The empirical basis for the analysis consists of 75 complicated disputes over child contact which were handled by the judicial authority in Denmark. The analysis deals with the key actors in the field and identifies several constructions about the child and ‘the child's best interest’. The dominant rationale was elaborated on the basis of the judicial discourse and its professionals: this discourse is based on a limited-content definition of ‘what is best for the child’ and has the purpose of maintaining the idea of a normalized parenthood. The consequences of this construction for the involved children are discussed.

Key Words: children • best interest principle • divorce • family law • sociology of childhood

Acta Sociologica, Vol. 49, No. 1, 29-46 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0001699306061898
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