Review article

Social and Legal Aspects of Deserting a Newborn

Nenad HLAČA ; Faculty of Law, Rijeka

Abstract

The phenomenon of deserting newborns is examined in the
introduction using the historical and comparative methods.
Different solutions adopted in national legislations and in
case law reveal development of social treatment of the
deserted children. It is concluded that in the course of history the morals, religion and customs have influenced desirability
of political goals additionally reinforced by the laws related
to sexuality and treatment of the deserted children by the
community. The phraseology employed in Art. 7 of the UN
Convention on the Right of the Child of 1989, which
qualifies the right of the child to know his or her parents and
fails to elevate it to the level of the child’s absolute rights,
seems acceptable and appropriate to the stage of civilisation
reached by the majority of the UN member states. The
modern social state substitutes the lack of mother’s love for
her child, expressed in the act of deserting the newborn, by
means of other institutes of family law, such as foster care
and adoption, protecting the right to life as the elementary
human right.

Keywords

foundling; adoption; right of the child

Hrčak ID:

29460

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/29460

Publication date:

31.10.2008.

Article data in other languages: croatian german

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