Some General Principles
First of all, there is the 'non-intervention principle', that a Court will not make any order regarding a child unless it is needed to resolve a dispute. Parents can make arrangements between themselves without needing to get a court order. They are the people best qualified to decide what is best for their children. Even if an order was made some time ago, parents can still make their own decisions and there is no need to go back to court again for a fresh order if there is no dispute.
The Act introduced the term 'parental responsibility' and gave this to both parents, if they were married, but only to the mother if she was unmarried. That's not very new but the Act also enabled unmarried fathers to apply for parental responsibility, giving them the same rights as the mother. The courts have said a father should have the same rights in almost every case. The main test is the father's 'commitment' to the child.
The 1989 Act, however, failed to anticipate the fact that an increasing number of parents have chosen not to marry and that huge numbers of fathers have no rights at all in respect of their children in a relationship that has lasted for years. From 1st December 2003 the father will automatically have parental responsibility for a child born after that date (but not before) if his name is on the birth certificate.
Grandparents and the wider family are recognised as having an important role to play but this too has often been much misunderstood. There are many children whose grandparents effectively care for them for one reason and another and the Act requires Social Services to look first to the wider family before taking children into care when their parents are unable to care for them. Historically, the courts have been very reluctant to give grandparents additional rights when a child is still looked after by its own parent(s).
The most controversial issue is the child's own rights. The Law has provided, over and over again, that a child's welfare is paramount and the Children Act requires every court to enquire into the child's own wishes. There are many who argue that a child's wishes, even those of a toddler, should decide whether he or she should see their absent parent. Others argue that a child is best sheltered from all those disputes and has a right to have adults decide what is best for them. The Act strives to steer a middle course - unacceptable to many - simply by requiring the court to enquire into the child's wishes and to give appropriate weight to them, taking into account the child's age and ability to understand the implications of what they are saying.