Universality and contextuality of the principle of ensuring the best interests of the child in the practice of the European Court of Human Rights

The article provides a comprehensive scientific and legal analysis of the principle of ensuring the best interests of the child through the prism of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. It has been established that the relevance of the study is due to the growing role of this principle in the context of modern social challenges, in particular armed conflict, as well as the insufficient level of its systematic understanding in domestic doctrine. The authors of the article take into account the conceptual and categorical apparatus, in particular, the distinction between the rights and freedoms of the child, and reveal the legal nature and content of the principle of the best interests of the child as a fundamental methodological guideline in the field of child rights protection. Based on an analysis of the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the universal nature of this principle as a cross-cutting standard applicable to various areas of legal regulation and categories of legal relations involving children is substantiated. Particular attention is paid to the practice of the ECHR, in particular the analysis of the cases of M. and M. v. Croatia, Q. and R. v. Slovenia, N.TS. and Others v. Georgia, in which the principle of the best interests of the child is applied in the context of Articles 3, 6, and 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It has been proven that the ECHR’s approach combines the universality of this principle as a generally binding standard with its contextuality, which manifests itself in the need for an individualized assessment of the specific circumstances of the case, taking into account the age, maturity, and position of the child, as well as the nature of family ties and potential risks. It is concluded that it is the interaction of universal and contextual dimensions that determines the specifics of the interpretation and application of the principle of ensuring the best interests of the child in the practice of the ECHR. At the same time, the results of the study allow us to assert that the principle of ensuring the best interests of the child in the approach of the European Court of Human Rights is not reduced to a formal criterion, but performs the function of a substantive and procedural standard that defines the limits of discretion of national authorities and courts.