Contemporary Paradigms Of Labor Migration And The Solution Of Parental Authority Delegation

Closely related to the very quality of being European Union citizens, the movement of people and labor migration is significant from Romania to other EU countries. Being a complex process, the labor migration determines a chain of effects, involving both positive aspects (economic, social, cultural or relevant to the labor market) as well as negative, unfortunate and unintended, especially for families and children. Although the parents' choice to work abroad is based on a criterion related to the level of economic development of the family, which meets the legal imperative that any decision must respect the principle of best interests of the child, the imminent risk factor generated by this choice leads to serious vulnerabilities and problems regarding a judicious and real protection of children's rights in our country. Numerous studies and statistics published at national level have determined, on one hand, the need of a more active involvement of the local and central public administration authorities in order to establish the actual dimensions of this phenomenon and, on the other hand, the necessity of establishing an express alternative protection framework for these abandoned children, which are now, in many cases, in the random care of people, other than their parents. Given this general context, this study identifies and analyzes the extent to which the current legislative framework on the situation of children whose parents have moved abroad in order to work is applicable or not. We will also present our opinion on the procedure of delegating parental authority by parents in the situation mentioned above and the efficiency of other alternative care measures and see if they meet the requirements established by the principle of the best interests of the child.