In the EU, there is no unified
definition of who is a parent, and the legal definition of a parent differs
between Member States. A parent can be understood as an
“individual biologically and/or emotionally linked to the child”, including
“through the provision of care, concern and affection”.[1]
The role of a parent can have social, affective and legal implications. In
legal terms, the holder of parental responsibility is considered a parent.
Holder of parental
responsibility refers to any person, institution or other body having parental
responsibility for a child.
Parental responsibility refers
to all the rights and duties relating to the person or the property of a child,
which are given to a natural or legal person by a decision, by operation of law
or by an agreement having legal effect, including the right of custody and
rights of access.
[1] Ruggiero, R.,
Volnakis, D., Hanson, K. (2017), The inclusion of ‘third parties’: The status
of parenthood in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Children's Rights Law in the Global Human Rights
Landscape, Isolation, inspiration, integration?, Edited by Eva
Brems, Ellen Desmet and Wouter Vandenhole, Routledge Research in Human Rights
Law, pp.71-89. Archard, D. (2004), Children: Rights and childhood, 2nd
edition, Routledge, p. 152.