Acknowledgments Author's Note About the Author IntroductionPart I: Disputes About Children's Upbringing1. A Landmark Case: Applying the Paramountcy Principle Background to the Decision The Outcome: What Happened to Carlos? The Lessons to be LearnedNotes2. Child Protection: The Law The Paramountcy Principle in Australia Child Protection Acts The Problem of Definition: The Current Laws Adapting the Paramountcy Principle The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child The Family as the Fundamental Group Unit of Society Parental Responsibility Doubts about the Role of the LawNotes3. Child Protection: The Law in Action A Troubled Family Severing Family Links Andrew's Case Differing Views of the WorldNotes4. Child Protection: Some Dilemmas The Meaning of "Best Interests" Preserving the Family Unit Child Protection Services: The Reality A Tragic Case (But One of Many) Putting the Case in ContextNotes5. Best Interests and Cultural and Racial Identity A Painful History Self-determination Applying the Child Protection Laws to Aboriginal Children The Law's Recognition of Cultural Differences The Law's Dilemma Respecting the Cultural Identity of Aboriginal Children: Some Questions A Compromise?NotesPart II: Disputes About Decision-making6. Another Landmark Case: A Challenge to Parental Authority Re-defining Parental Authority The Decision Gillick Re-visited A Revised View of Parenting (and Some Doubts) Allowing Children to Make Their Own DecisionsNotes7. Questions About Children's Freedom to Make Their Own Decisions Re R and Re W: The Eclipse of Parental Powers? The Role of the Courts Some QuestionsNotes8.

"Still a Child" X's Case Some Reflections Overriding Parents' Wishes "Gillick Competence" and Autonomy The Power of the CourtsNotes9. Parental Powers: Some Limitations Some Illustrations Some ReflectionsNotes10. A Triangle Intervention in the Parent/Child Relationship Best Interests How the Law Works Disputes about Decision-making Powers The Role of the Courts A Final WordNotes BibliographyIndex.