REZUMAT
Interesul superior al copilului în dreptul Uniunii Europene, deşi consacrat prin numeroase instrumente de drept primar, derivat sau de „soft law”, este un concept variabil, încă în curs de conturare. Dificultatea interpretării şi aplicării interesului superior al copilului are ca punct de plecare lipsa unei definiţii unitare a copilului, precum şi numeroasele domenii ale Uniunii Europene în care acesta intervine. Totuşi, raportarea la interpretarea interesului superior al copilului din perspectiva Convenţiei Naţiunilor Unite referitoare la drepturile copilului, alături de criteriile materiale şi procedurale stabilite la nivelul instrumentelor Uniunii Europene, îi facilitează aplicarea. Curtea de Justiţie a Uniunii Europene a contribuit, de asemenea, pentru a delimita acest principiu transversal.
Cuvinte-cheie: interesul superior al copilului, definiţia copilului în dreptul Uniunii Europene, art. 24 din Carta drepturilor fundamentale a Uniunii Europene, Convenţia Naţiunilor Unite referitoare la drepturile copilului.
L’INTÉRÊT SUPÉRIEUR DE L’ENFANT DANS LE DROIT DE L’UNION EUROPÉENNE
RÉSUMÉ
L’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant dans le droit de l’Union européenne, bien que consacré au niveau de divers instruments de droit primaire, dérivé ou de «droit mou» de l’Union européenne, un concept variable, en cours de délimitation. La difficulté d’interpréter et d’appliquer l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant est cause par l’absence d’une définition unitaire de l’enfant, ainsi que les nombreux domaines de l’Union européenne dans lesquels celui-ci intervient. Toutefois, la prise en considération de l’interprétation de l’intérêt supérieur de l’enfant selon la Convention des Nations Unies relative aux droits de l’enfant, ainsi que les critères matériels et procéduraux établis au niveau des instruments de l’Union européenne, facilitent son application. La Cour de Justice de l’Union européenne a également contribué à délimiter ce principe transversal.
Mots-clés: intérêt supérieur de l’enfant, définition de l’enfant dans le droit de l’Union européenne, article 24 de la Charte des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne, Convention des Nations unies relative aux droits de l’enfant.
THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD IN EUROPEAN UNION LAW
ABSTRACT
The best interests of the child in European Union law, although enshrined through numerous instruments of primary, secondary or soft law, is a variable concept, still being shaped. The difficulty of interpreting and applying the best interests of the child is based on the lack of a uniform definition of the child, as well as the many areas of the European Union in which it intervenes. However, the reference to the interpretation of the best interests of the child in the light of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, together with the material and procedural criteria set out at the level of the instruments of the European Union, facilitates its application of this principle. The Court of Justice of the European Union has also helped to delineate this cross-cutting principle.
Keywords: the best interests of the child, the definition of the child in European Union law, Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
* Doctorand, Université Paris 1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne.