Grasping the Best Interest of the Child: Education and Roma People in Portuguese Case Law
by Mariana Monteiro de Matos
Question(s) at stake
Whether the early school leaving of a 14-year-old Roma/Gypsy girl, justified by Roma/Gypsy traditions, should be legally considered a case of child endangerment warranting state intervention.
Outcome of the ruling
Appeal granted. Between the parents’ refusal to allow the minor to attend school and the minor’s interest in completing (at least) the compulsory schooling period, the latter should prevail. The complaint procedure should continue, according to domestic laws, with the aim of establishing a “supportive measure to the parents”.
Country:
Official citation
Court of Appeal Lisbon, Judgment of 20 March 2012, 783/11.2TBBRR.L1-1 (Tribunal da Relação de Lisboa, Acórdão de 20 de março de 2012, Processo n.º 783/11.2TBBRR.L1-1)
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Best interests of the child Compulsory education Minority rights Parents Proportionality Pupils
Tag(s):
Roma Cigano School drop-out Protection of Children and Young People in Danger Act Gypsy
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Mariana Monteiro de Matos (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Department Law and Anthropology, Germany)
Postdoc, Lisbon (Portugal), 2022; Dr. iur., Göttingen (Germany), 2018; LL.M., Göttingen (Germany), 2013; LL.B., Belém (Brazil), 2011. She is a research fellow and lecturer at the Postgraduate Programme in Law of the Federal University of Pará (Brazil) and research associate of the Department of Law and Anthropology of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (Germany). Socio-legal studies, constitutional law and international law are the main fields of her extensive publication record, which includes contributions to Brill Publishers and Oxford University Press. Dr Monteiro de Matos has delivered lectures and workshops around the world to audiences with legal and interdisciplinary backgrounds. Several organizations, including the International Law Association and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, awarded her research prestigious grants. She is a member of the Brazilian Bar Association, the German Society of International Law, and the European Association of Social Anthropologists.