Regional International Organizations’ Experience in Improving Approaches to Regulating Counsel Participation in the Resolution of Disputes Involving Children

The paper examines the experience of regional international organizations that develop uniform approaches and coordination mechanisms for the activities of public authorities at the national level with respect to the participation of lawyers in the resolution of child-related disputes. The law of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the law of the Council of Europe constitute the most comprehensive bodies of norms defining the foundations for regulating the participation of lawyers in child-related disputes within their respective regions. At the same time, other regional international organizations also demonstrate a growing tendency toward regulating this sphere of social relations, including, for example, the Organization of American States. As in the case of global international organizations, instruments of «soft law» of a recommendatory nature play a significant role in shaping the legal framework governing the participation of lawyers in child-related disputes. The author emphasizes that, notwithstanding their non-binding character, soft law instruments exert considerable influence on the development of general principles, standards, and directions for the evolution of national legislation and law enforcement practice in this field. In particular, soft law instruments formulate general principles that serve as guidelines for states in the development of domestic legislation and legal practice, including the principle of the best interests of the child and the principle of parental equality.

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