Welfare Principle
The paramount principle in children's cases: the child's welfare is the court's paramount consideration in any decision about their upbringing (s.1 Children Act 1989).
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 sets the single overriding rule that governs every decision a court makes about a child's upbringing. Where a court determines any question with respect to the upbringing of a child, the child's welfare shall be the court's paramount consideration.
'Paramount' is a deliberately strong word: the child's welfare does not merely have to be balanced against other interests, such as those of a parent — it overrides them. This is the principle that sits alongside, and is engaged once, the 'significant harm' threshold in section 31 has been crossed: significant harm decides whether the court can intervene at all, while the welfare principle decides what order, if any, it should then make.
Related terms
Official sources
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