What Scotland can learn from Nordic countries about children’s rights after separation

Scotland has incorporated the UNCRC. Now comes the challenge.

When the UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act came into force in 2024, Scotland rightly celebrated becoming one of the few countries to give children’s rights direct legal force. But passing legislation is only the beginning.

The big test for Shared Parenting Scotland is whether incorporation changes the day-to-day lives of children whose parents separate.

Every year we support thousands of mums, dads and grandparents through our helpline, local group meetings, training and advocacy. We know that family separation is rarely straightforward. Yet we also know that children have a right to maintain relationships with both parents under Article 9 of the UNCRC, while Article 18 recognises that both parents continue to share responsibility for their upbringing.

Scotland is now firmly in the implementation phase of incorporation and there is much we can learn from countries that have travelled this road before us. Through research undertaken by interns at Shared Parenting Scotland in 2021 and in 2025, we explored how a number of countries, particularly in the Nordic region, have implemented the UNCRC and what Scotland can learn from their experience of supporting shared parenting through law, policy and culture.

Sweden shows that legislation alone is not enough – we need practical systems implemented too. Although the UNCRC became Swedish law in 2020, a subsequent national audit concluded that implementation had been inconsistent because public bodies were not given clear expectations or practical guidance. At the same time, Sweden has embedded practical measures that support shared parenting, including requiring courts to complete investigations into custody, residence and contact disputes within four months and ensuring children’s views are heard in that timeframe. 

Norway offers a different lesson. Incorporation has become embedded throughout its legal system, children’s participation has been strengthened, and mediation plays a central role in reducing conflict between separating parents. One particularly interesting development is the proposed new Children’s Act, which would make shared parenting the default after separation and provide children with their own meeting with a mediator. This recognises that reducing parental conflict helps protect a child’s right to family life with both parents, and helps families make those rights a reality.

Iceland reminds us that implementation requires sustained leadership. The country has strengthened children’s participation by allowing children to challenge custody decisions and by establishing Child Assemblies to give young people a direct voice in public policy. It also demonstrates that incorporation alone does not guarantee change. Progress still depends on confident courts, well-trained professionals and public institutions actively championing children’s rights in practice.

These experiences point towards a clear message for Scotland: Implementation matters every bit as much as legislation.

That means ensuring children are meaningfully heard in decisions affecting them. It means reducing unnecessary parental conflict wherever possible. It means removing practical barriers that prevent children maintaining meaningful relationships with both parents. And it means ensuring that public services understand what incorporation of the UNCRC means in everyday practice, including a better understanding of “the best interests of the child” in the context of separation and a child’s right to maintain relationships with both parents.

These ambitions closely reflect the priorities Shared Parenting Scotland recently set out in our manifesto ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election. We have called for renewed leadership on family policy; reform of the family justice system, including delivery of commitments on alternative dispute resolution and specialist training for Child Welfare Reporters; greater political recognition of the growing number of children who live across two homes; and practical changes that support shared parenting rather than creating unnecessary conflict between separating parents and the systems around them – including schools and other public services.

Scotland has already shown leadership by incorporating the UNCRC. The next opportunity is to become a country recognised for delivering it.

Children should experience the benefits of incorporation because their relationships, their voices and their rights are consistently respected in the decisions that shape their everyday lives, including when their parents separate.

We look forward to discussing this and much more besides at “Children’s Rights and Shared Parenting” the first ever international conference on Shared Parenting to take place in Scotland and the UK in September 2027 and we invite you to join us!