The principle of 'the best interests of the child' (art. 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child) is sometimes put forward as being the leading guide, i.e. it will in the long run - via, e.g. court cases and legal writing - give accurate and detailed information on the scope of children's rights and the responsibilities of, e.g., parents. We claim that this principle does not provide us with the necessary analytical tools to enhance the legal rights of children. To this end it is more efficient to accept the explanatory power and apply the elements of the Interest theory, i.e. the chain of children's interests and rights, obligations of e.g. parents and sanctions against failures. In this context we also illustrate that rights can have different strengths by briefly examining the role of social authorities in relation to the rights of children.
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