Roundtable / Table Ronde: 鈥淎 Space for Research on Children and Law 鈥� Espace de recherche sur l鈥檈nfance et le droit鈥�

La table ronde Regards & Jeux est une occasion de pr茅senter une recherche ayant un lien significatif avec les enfants ou le droit de la jeunesse et qui est effectu茅e par un(e) 茅tudiant(e). 脌 l鈥檕ccasion de cette table ronde, chaque participant doit faire un bref r茅sum茅 de son essai ainsi que pr茅senter une r茅flexion quant 脿 son essai. La pr茅sentation peut se faire en anglais ou en fran莽ais.

To Look and to Play鈥檚 roundtable is an opportunity for students to present their research on intersections between children and the law. During this roundtable, each participant reflects on and summarizes their research. The presentation can either be done in English or in French.

Essais de R茅flexion 2022-2023 Reflection Essays

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Shona Moreau:听The 鈥淏est Interest of the Child鈥�, a听Constitutional, Statutory, and Common Law Concept in听South Africa听

This paper examines the legal framework of the "Best Interest of the Child" principle in South Africa's new republic. Focusing on the Constitutional Court's rulings, the study aims to identify the sources influencing these decisions and assess the impact of embedding the principle in the Constitution. The research reveals that while South African courts draw from a range of sources鈥攊nternational guidelines, constitutional law, statutory law, and common law鈥攖hey primarily rely on constitutional mandates for their judgments. The paper is structured into three parts: a historical overview of South Africa's constitution and its relationship with children's rights; an analysis of how South African courts have evolved in their application of the principle; and a reflection on the implications of constitutionalizing the Best Interest of the Child in the South African context.听

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Kasia Johnson:听Considering the Child in Paths to Liability in the Private Law of Civil Wrongs听听

Kasia Johnson鈥檚 research project investigates the presence of the child in different paths to civil liability (e.g., negligence, vicarious liability, and non-delegable duties of care) in the context of the child protection system. In this essay, she reflects on what it means to conceptualize the unique needs and interests of children within the sphere of private law, as well as shifts in her own understanding of 鈥榯he child鈥�. 听听

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Joseph Ho:听Delivery of On-Reserve Indigenous Child Welfare Services: A Case Study from British Columbia and Federal Legislation听

This research paper examines the cooperative arrangements between the federal government, provincial governments, and Indigenous communities behind the delivery of on-reserve Indigenous child welfare services. It focuses on a specific case study from British Columbia to illustrate the complexity and opacity of these arrangements, posing challenges to users and creating obstacles for Canada鈥檚 reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.听 joseph_ho_reflective_essay.pdf

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Vibhuti Dikshit: Reimagining the Laws on Surrogacy from a Rights-Based Perspective 鈥� Can Women and Children Ever Be More than Chattel?听听

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Maria Rueda Martinez:听Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) For Infants of Less than One Year of Age with a Terminal Illness That Causes Intractable Severe Distress: A Legal and Ethical Perspective in the Canadian Landscape. This paper assesses the extent to which it is ethically and legally permissible for听parents to request Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) for their infant of less than one-year-old when (a) they have a听terminal illness that (b) is causing intractable distress that is not alleviated by standard听palliative care.听An overview of end-of-life decision-making in neonatology and of the Canadian law of consent to treatment for incapable minors is provided to showcase that听expanding听MAiD to these infants at the parents鈥� requests is not out of line with current medical听practice and legal frameworks. An in-depth analysis of the judicial reasoning听underlying the concepts of autonomy, dignity, sanctity of life and protection of the听vulnerable is conducted to defend that the expansion of MAiD to the newborns is also surprisingly听consistent MAiD jurisprudence.听 maria_rueda_martinez_reflective_essay.pdf

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Anne-Laurence听Guilmette:听Ontario鈥檚 Appellate Courts Approach to Parental Alienation

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Marie-Pierre听Doucette: Du consentement aux soins du mineur de 14 ans et plus atteint de troubles de sant茅 mentale et de l'impuissance des parents听

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Carla Arbelaez:听Bringing Child Climate Migrants Out of the Shadows: The Power of Mutually Reinforcing International Human Rights Narratives听

This paper assesses whether the 2018 Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration sufficiently upholds the Convention of the Rights of the Child protections afforded to this migrant subgroup.听Overall, the paper concludes that despite inadequacies within the explicit text of Global Compact, a holistic reading of international soft law and hard law would require that the Global Compact be interpreted to include expansive State commitments to child climate migrants.听 carla_arbelaez_reflective_essay.pdf

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Nathan Leung:听Criminalized Plastic: A Look Into听Child Sex Dolls as Therapy听听

Criminalized Plastic:听A Look into Child Sex Dolls as Therapy听examines how child sex dolls can be used as preventative therapy for pedophiles and how this would fit in under the current Canadian criminal legislation for possession of child pornography.听 nathan_leung_reflective_essay.pdf听

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Clara McGaughey:听Human Trafficking as a Legal Strategy for the Abuse of Young Gymnasts听听

Based on a real case that never went to trial, this paper examines the potential and risks of using human trafficking as a legal strategy when adjudicating the systemic abuse of young gymnasts. It discusses the pitfalls of current legal recourses for athlete abuse, breaks down international definitions of human trafficking, and looks at what it means to bring child survivors of abuse into a fraught cultural discourse.听 clara_mcgaughey_reflective_essay.pdf