engleski

Parents with Mental Disabilities and Protection of the Child's Interest

Persons with mental disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups of society. Lives of those persons are often characterized by stigmatization and social exclusion, therefore they are more exposed to risk of violations of fundamental human rights. As parents, those persons are faced with many challenges, and the problem that may arise and which will be analyzed in this paper concerns possible collision on the one hand parent's right to privacy and confidentiality of his/her medical data and information related to his/her mental health that are relevant for exercising parental authority and on the other hand the child's rights and his/her interest to be protected. Namely, timely insight into the medical documentation of a parent by the competent authority can be crucial for preventing risk of child neglect or violation of the child's rights due to the limited mental capacity of the parent, that enables him/her to exercise parental responsibility in a manner consistent with the child's welfare. Therefore, relevant international documents on the rights of persons with disabilities and children's rights will be analyzed as well as relevant regulations in Croatian law system with the aim to present preconditions and requirements for striking a balance between the rights of a parent with mental disability and the child’s interests.

mental disability, parents rights, child’s interest, confidentiality of medical data

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