Abstract
"The central issue is not whether we should treat children like adults, but instead whether we should treat them like people". Children are almost always the subjects of decisions made by adults. This is only exacerbated when disputes between adults, over matters affecting the child, come before the courts. Providing the child with opportunities to express their views on these matters is critical for respecting the child as the person who will ultimately be affected by the decision, and as the person who is "the most reliable [witness] of their own experience".
This dissertation considers the right of the child to participate in matters that affect them, in the context of disputes between guardians over whether, or not, the child should receive the COVID-19 vaccinations. This will offer a unique insight into how New Zealand judges are upholding the right of the child to participate, when faced with decisions concerning the child’s medical treatment in the wider context of a global pandemic.