Re-evaluating 'best interests' in the wake of Raqeeb v Barts NHS Foundation Trust & Anors

Auckland, Cressida ORCID: 0000-0002-4376-0013 and Goold, Imogen (2020) Re-evaluating 'best interests' in the wake of Raqeeb v Barts NHS Foundation Trust & Anors. Modern Law Review, 83 (6). 1328 - 1342. ISSN 0026-7961

Text (Auckland_re-evaluating-best-interests--published) - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (229kB)

• Author

Abstract

In Raqeeb v Barts NHS Foundation Trust, the latest of a number of cases concerning whether a child can travel abroad for treatment that doctors in the UK do not consider to be in their best interests, the High Court held that the hospital had acted unlawfully by failing to consider the child's rights under EU law when refusing to allow her to travel. Although this derogation could be justified on public policy grounds, as such treatment was, on the facts, in her best interests, no further interference with her rights was justified. In making this finding, the court recognised the ‘stress’ that such a case placed on the best interests test, lending weight to the argument for moving instead to a risk of significant harm threshold for judicial intervention in parental decisions, which better accounts for legitimate differences of value and strikes a better balance under Article 8 ECHR.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14682230
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Authors
Divisions:	Law
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Date Deposited:	06 Jul 2020 11:12
Last Modified:	27 Mar 2024 19:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/105301

Actions (login required)

View Item