Restoration of family power: considerations about its legal possibility

Abstract

This paper comments on the possibility of the restoration of the institution of the family power to parents who have been justly deprived of this legal right because of judicial sentencing. In order to research this topic, this study used bibliographical review, in which the chosen approach is merely descriptive and based on revised studies, court cases and other jurisprudential texts. Furthermore, literature review was also utilized to search for judicial decisions in important court databases. Simultaneously, this study primarily focused on the Brazilian Child and Adolescent Statute, called “ECA”. More specifically, this study explored inherent children and adolescent’s rights based on the principles of integral protection, best interest, as well as family prevalence. Moreover, family power restoration sometimes appears to be one of the specific measures utilized to protect children and adolescents, since the list presented in article 101 of the “ECA” is not exhaustive. Finally, this paper understands that in order to restore family power, it is necessary that failing parents prove, in an autonomous lawsuit, that, in fact, they have surpassed the conditions that made them lose the family power.