TRANSFORMATION IN THE TERMINOLOGICAL SYSTEM OF CHILDREN'S RIGHTS PROTECTION: FROM SOVIET DETERMINISM TO A HUMAN-CENTRIC APPROACH

Abstract

This article uses a comprehensive study and analysis of the legal and linguistic term “children deprived of parental care”. In this article, this term is not simply a familiar legal construct, but an object undergoing transformation in response to the challenges of the modern Ukrainian legal system and global processes of protecting rights and freedoms. It has been proven that the Soviet legal school built a guardianship system around the idea of state restriction, where the process of transforming the attitude towards the child was a priority mechanism, and the nature of the punitive sanction often involved interference in the family. Expanded methodological tools were developed during the research. In particular, through comparative legal analysis, discrepancies between the legislation of Ukraine and that of EU countries were identified. The author emphasized the fundamental distinction between the concepts of “deprivation” and “abandonment”. While “deprivation” in legal interpretation is inseparably linked to the idea of a delict, fault, or legal sanction (deprivation of rights, deprivation of liberty), the term “abandonment without care” denotes an objective condition of the child. Special attention is paid to children in temporarily occupied territories, where legal confirmation of the status of “deprivation ofcare” is procedurally impossible, although in fact the child has been left without protection. At the same time, the definition proposed by the author – “children who have been left without parental care” – shifts the focus to the child's need for protection rather than to the legal evaluation of parental behavior. The article also develops and formulates a number of specific amendments to the Family and Civil Codes of Ukraine, as well as to other subordinate acts. The results of the scientific study demonstrate that the change in terminology is not merely a linguistic adjustment but a necessary and timely step toward harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with the United Nations´ core principles on alternative care arrangements.