The number of court cases involving parents trying to get their children back after being forcibly removed by the council has risen drastically over the last five years.
The number of city court cases has risen from 108 in 2007 to over 500 last year and the number of appeals to the high courts has surged from 42 to 341 in the same period, according to parliament.
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Preventing the appeals
The trend has led the justice minister, Karen Hækkerup, to initiate a judicial reform that would prevent parents from appealing those city court cases to the high courts.
“It is essential for the child that forced removal cases are settled as quickly as possible, so that both child and parents can have swift clarification of the situation,” Hækkerup told Metroxpress newspaper.
“The possibility of appeal to the high courts only serves to postpone the moment when the cases are settled, to the detriment of the child.”
Child welfare organisations Red Barnet and Børnerådet support the Justice Ministry’s decision to prevent children being dragged through the justice system.
