Minister for Justice secures Cabinet approval for general scheme of ‘Valerie’s Law’
Information on legislation and practices beyond Ireland for children in the unfortunate situation of having one parent kill the other is limited.
A country may not need a specific law but it might be standard practice to remove or suspend guardianship rights from a parent who has killed the other parent. Accessing and interpreting these is difficult due to language barriers and they may not be truly equivalent due to differing approaches to the law in this area in other jurisdictions.
Further information from researchers in this area is welcome.
EU
In the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union : Article 24 “The rights of the child” states:
"1 Children shall have the right to such protection and care as is necessary for their well-being."
and
"2. In all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child’s best interests must be a primary consideration."
Italy:
In February 2018, the Government of Italy adopted a law on the protection of minors orphaned by domestic violence (Orfani Speciali ), which ensures that such minors have free access to legal aid and psychological assistance. When it comes to appointing guardians, the law gives priority to other relatives and family members.
https://voxeurop.eu/en/orphans-femicide-italy/
Other
England and Wales:
In May 2024, England Wales introduced "Jade's Law" to automatically suspend Parental Responsibility rights of a parent guilty of killing the other parent. Further info.
Note: In the UK there was a "Valerie's Law" petition to make specialist training mandatory for all police and other government agencies that support black women and girls affected by domestic abuse. This followed the murders in March 2014 of Valerie Forde and her one-year-old daughter Jahzara by Valerie's ex-partner.
Northern Ireland
Applications to remove or restrict parental responsibility are made to the courts. The courts in Northern Ireland currently have a range of powers to effectively remove or totally restrict parental responsibility rights, with the best interests of the child principle always at the forefront of decision-making. As such, there are currently effective mechanisms in place to deal with the removal or restriction of parental responsibility from parents who are convicted of the murder of the other parent.
Israel:
In December 2020 the Israeli parliament or Knesset passed a law removing custody from a parent who attempted to murder or rape family members.
Argentina:
Argentina adopted a law in 2017 removing parental authority from persons who are found guilty in a court of law of committing aggravated homicide associated with femicide, or inflicting injuries and sexual abuse on their children.