(My emphasis - M.A.C.)
And in Hebrew translation:
"In all actions concerning children, whether taken by public or private social welfare institutions or by courts, administrative authorities and legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be your primary consideration."
In other words, the court, as part of the state authorities, must insist on the best interests of the child in the framework of the proceeding.
The Supreme Court addressed the best interests of the child and held, in various contexts, that this is a primary consideration. Other Municipal Applications 549/75 Certain v. Family Appellant IsrSC 30(1) 459, 465 (1975), it was held that: "You do not have a judicial matter relating to minors, in which the best interests of the minors are not the first and primary consideration" (as well as other Municipality Applications 7206/93 Roni Armand Gabbay v. Efrat Gabbay, IsrSC 51(2) 241, 251 (1997)). In another civil hearing 7015/94 Attorney General v. Anonymous, IsrSC 50(1) 048 (1995), it was held that: "The consideration of the child's best interest is a super-consideration, the decisive consideration. Indeed, alongside this consideration will be additional considerations... But all of these considerations will be secondary, and they will all bow down to the consideration of the best interests of the child.".
- The Covenant establishes the principle of significant participation or participation of every child in every system in which he or she is located, according to which each child has his or her own opinion, and should be allowed to participate in determining his or her fate, while giving due weight to his opinion in accordance with his age and maturity. The State of Israel's accession to the International Covenant is an expression of the recognition of the perception that children are not objects of the rights of others, but rather have their own rights independently and detached from their parents. Hearing the child expresses his vision as an autonomous person, as an independent object of rights, with independent desires. His participation in the proceedings and his hearing express his dignity as a human being.
- The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child publishes from time to time commentaries on the Convention and its implementation on various issues (hereinafter: the recommendations of the UN Committee). UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), General Comment No. 14 (2013) on the right of the child to have his or her best interests taken as a primary consideration (art. 3, para. 1, 29 May 2013). The third chapter of the UN Committee's recommendation 14 relates to the right of the child to be heard, when his or her best interests are assessed (a right set forth in Article 12 of the Convention), and clarifies the connection between Articles 3 and 12 of the Convention. It was held that section 3 establishes the substantive right whereby the best interest of the child will be a primary consideration in matters related to him, and section 12 deals with the manner in which the child's best interest will be examined. It was explicitly stated there that if the conditions by virtue of section 12 of the Convention are not fulfilled, regarding the manner in which the best interests of the child are assessed, it will not be possible to make a decision on its merits in his case.
- In addition, the Convention explicitly states that it applies to all children under the age of 18. In the recommendation of the UN Committee No. 14, it is clarified that although the procedure for assessing the best interests of the child will vary according to his age and the possibility of expressing his opinion, appropriate procedures must still be established for assessing the best interests of the child at any age, in accordance with his or her emotional and cognitive abilities. Therefore, states should adopt evaluation procedures that will give greater weight to the position of the children themselves to the extent possible, and independent representation when this is not possible directly (ibid., at para. 44).
- As part of Israel's commitment to implement the International Convention on the Rights of the Child in legislation, a committee headed by Justice Saviona Rotlevy was established in 1997 to re-examine the entirety of Israeli legislation regulating the treatment of children by society and state authorities, in order to ensure that the State of Israel complies with its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. One of the tasks assigned to the committee in its letter of appointment was to examine "the need to enact an integrative law," in light of the Convention.
- In the Committee's General Report ("Report of the Committee for the Examination of Basic Principles in the Field of Children and Law and Their Application in Legislation - Headed by Justice Saviona Rotlevy - Report of the Committee General Part" - State of Israel - Ministry of Justice (5764-2004), the Committee noted that:
"The committee formulated a bill for the promotion of children's rights, which is intended to be a central law that serves as an umbrella for the commitment of the various state authorities to children, and their attitude towards them. The bill seeks to establish a clear legislative anchor for the state's responsibility and commitment to children, to promote their rights and to act in accordance with the principles of the Convention."