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28 J. Soc. Welfare & Fam. L. iii (2006)

handle is hein.journals/jnlosclwl28 and id is 1 raw text is: Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law Vol. 28, No. 1, March 2006, pp. iii-vii Editorial This issue of the journal is a special issue that features articles that began life as contributions to the Socio-legal Studies Association Annual Conference in Liverpool, held in April 2005. We wanted to include articles that reflected the lively and diverse range of interests that is so typical of the SLSA and that was well represented at the 2005 conference. These papers do that. They range from a concern with the place of the child within legal cultures to the position of children and young people within current public policy approaches. Our first paper, by Caroline Sawyer of Oxford Brookes University, offers an informative comparison between the legal status of children in family law proceedings and such status in other areas of law. Interestingly, she suggests that children may be better off in some respects within some areas of the law than they are within those areas of the law - family law and human rights law - that have seen most efforts to promote the position of children. In this sense, at least, an increased interest in the welfare of children does not necessarily enhance their legal rights. Our second paper, by Judith Masson of the University of Bristol, considers the use of Emergency Protection Orders in child protection cases. In particular, she focuses attention on the interaction between these orders and articles six and eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (entitlement to a fair and public hearing and the right to respect for family and private life, respectively). She is concerned with the ways in which local authorities deal with the complexities of EPO requirements by, for example, using short notice applications and powers of police protection. As a result of such strategies, the reality of human rights protection within these contexts, suggests Masson, falls far short of the ideal. In our third article, Stephanie Petrie (University of Liverpool) provides, along with Lisa Fiorelli and Katie O'Donnell, an unusual and thought-provoking insight into the manner in which young people can be involved in research projects in ways which conform to prevailing legislative and policy ideas with respect to the participation of young people in decision-making processes. An emphasis on such participation has been an inconsistent feature of social policy debates for a long time now. By writing at least partly from the perspective of peer researchers, the authors are able to offer a rare degree of insight into how such participation is experienced. It is clear that, despite its undoubted benefits for some research projects, such participation can bring complications for both projects and researchers. Finally, Anne-Marie Martindale (University of Liverpool) widens the focus on policy even further by examining the operation of the Children's Fund within a local area. Part of a wide range of New Labour initiatives focussing on child welfare, the Children's Fund has significant implications for local action. Its impact at local level is the ultimate determinant of long-term success or failure. In Martindale's analysis, ISSN 0964-9069 print/1469-9621 online © 2006 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/09649060600894473

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