Child Vulnerability Within the Legal System

National and international legal frameworks promise to respect, protect and provide children with individual rights and ensure through these rights the protection of their well-being, thereby directly influencing the actions taken by others concerning the child. While children typically engage with the legal system indirectly, often represented by parents, certain circumstances necessitate their direct involvement. Such direct involvement may occur in cases involving juvenile offenders, family law disputes concerning custody or welfare, or when state intervention is necessary for the child’s protection. Moreover, the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) require that the child should be heard in any matter which concerns the child directly or indirectly. There are many instances where children’s voices are not heard even though the matter in question concerns the child. This chapter explores the child’s agency and exercise of rights within the legal system and examines whether the system is sufficiently attuned to children’s needs. It considers how children’s rights, vulnerability, well-being, and agency are represented in legal proceedings, comparing international standards and national practices. It further discusses how a child’s vulnerability is conceptualised within the legal system and whether legal practice allows for a balanced approach to a child’s vulnerability and agency. The chapter brings Estonian legal proceedings as a case study to provide empirical insights into how the legal processes address the child’s position as vulnerable yet agentic, and to an extent an autonomous actor.