Problem: Enabling the child to make independent decisions and to express her/his views in decisions about cultural practices or protect the child's right to cultural identity? Is it possible to establish boundaries that balance the respect for cultural diversity and the context for development and autonomy of the child with respect of universal standards contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child? The principle of autonomy of the child and the right to cultural identity

 1924 – League of Nations - Geneva Declaration  1959 – UN General Assembly - Declaration of Rights of the Child  UN, 20 November 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child; The Rights of the Child Protection Participation and Empowerment

1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child. Article 12

The illusion of a universal consensus « universal value » of rights Every human being is entitled to the same human rights protection of its fundamental interests. Every human being should recognize the value of human rights. The weight of tradition and religion

Title 1: The insured validity of the autonomy of the child Chapter 1: The recognition of the child as a subject of law Section 1: The abandonment of paternalistic practices Section 2: The search for proper protection PART 1: Slow Revolution: acceptance of the progressive autonomy of the child

Title 1: The insured validity of the autonomy of the child Chapter 2: The recognition of the competence of the child Section 1: The confirmation of evolutionary theory skills Section 2: Practical confirmation from the Gillick case

PART 1: Slow Revolution: acceptance of the progressive autonomy of the child Title 2: The imperfect legal guarantee of the autonomy of the child Chapter 1: The newly accepted role of the family and relatives Section 1: The preservation of the family as a privileged interlocutor Section 2: The deliberate modification of parental influence

PART 1: Slow Revolution: acceptance of the progressive autonomy of the child Title 2: The imperfect legal guarantee of the autonomy of the child Chapter 2: The conditions of an acceptable state interventionism Section 1: Upholding the principle of subsidiarity Section 2: The consideration of the best interests of the child

PART 2: Delicate Resistance: cultural identity versus the autonomy of the child Title 1: The inevitable perception of children's rights through cultural identity Chapter 1: The direct recognition of cultural difference on the basis of human rights Section 1: The uncertain meaning of the concept of cultural identity of the child Section 2: The elements lacking universal interpretation

PART 2: Delicate Resistance: cultural identity versus the autonomy of the child Title 1: The inevitable perception of children's rights through cultural identity Chapter 2: The blur effect of globalization and immigration on changing values Section 1: The categorical dismissal of the cultural defense Section 2: In search of an "intermediate" standard

PART 2: Delicate Resistance: cultural identity versus the autonomy of the child Title 2: The "secondary" character of religious or cultural basis Chapter 1: The conflict between the individual right to refuse treatment and the protection of an objective right to life of the child Section 1: Protection at any cost the life of the minor Section 2: Approach by the uncertainty of the clinical situation

PART 2: Delicate Resistance: cultural identity versus the autonomy of the child Title 2: The "secondary" character of religious or cultural basis Chapter 2: The collision between religious and cultural freedom and the right to physical integrity of the child: source paradoxes scary Section 1: Excision: act contrary to law, but restored by the right Section 2: Circumcision act contra legem but legitimized by the law

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