The adoption of alternatives: Alternative justice in cases of compulsory adoption of children

Compulsory adoption of children is an extreme solution for caring for at-risk children or those who are neglected within their own family. Such proceedings are initiated by welfare authorities who file a claim for the Family Court to decide to terminate parental rights and declare the child eligible for adoption. The parents are judged and measured by the accepted cultural and gender standards, even though some of them are strangers to the society they live in. Those who criticize the adversarial legal system point to the blurring of particular dimensions in the lives of those whose cases are discussed in court. The purpose of this article is to present four principles of alternative justice, which are common to alternative law movements, as a theoretical basis for discussion in the decision-making process that may promote healing, balance power gaps, and improve relationships, and all in accordance with the unique aspects of each case. Each of the four principles will be demonstrated through a review of court rulings that dealt with compulsory adoptions of children in Israel, and which reflected the ideas inherent in those principles. The picture that emerges is that judges who act in the spirit of these principles, albeit unconsciously, improve the well-being of the parties and promote therapeutic solutions. Since these principles are universal, they can be applied elsewhere.