2.5 Competing rights and interests

So far, we have considered how children’s rights law, children’s views, children’s holistic needs and children’s short- and long-term interests help to determine what is in a child’s best interests. Sometimes, the rights and interests of other children, of parents and families, and of wider society, also need to be balanced with the rights and best interests of a child (see Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2 Balancing competing interests