1 The Child’s Voice in Adoption Proceedings: A European Perspective Claire Fenton-Glynn Abstract The right of the child to be heard in adoption proceedings flows directly from the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by almost every country in the world. In this paper, the interpretation of this principle across European jurisdictions will be analysed, both in terms of children who are old enough to make a determinative decision concerning their future, and those who are younger yet still possess the right to be heard. The wide variety of practices in Europe highlight the lack of progress in this field of law, which is not assisted by the conservative jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. Keywords: adoption; right to be heard; participation; evolving capacities; UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; European Court of Human Rights 1. Introduction Adoption is among the most drastic and far-reaching orders that can be made regarding a child. Despite the continuing evolution of open adoption and post-adoption contact, at its most basic adoption still involves the legal severance of all ties to the child’s birth family. Nevertheless, the child’s role in adoption proceedings, and his or her ability to express opinions and views, is a much underdeveloped area of law in Europe. There is no clear consensus as to the age at which a child should give consent to the adoption order, the weight a child’s views should be given, or even whether his or her views should be considered at all. This issue is of particular importance as the practice of adoption evolves from a mechanism that places unwanted infants with new families, as was the case in the first half of the 19 th century, to one that increasingly caters for older children, as can be seen in the table below.