Skip to main content

Sage Social Science Thesaurus

Content language

... > criminology > law and society > psychology and law > forensic assessment in civil and criminal cases > parens patriae doctrine

... > law and courts > law and society > psychology and law > forensic assessment in civil and criminal cases > parens patriae doctrine

Preferred term

parens patriae doctrine

Definition

Parens patriae translates from the Latin as “father of the people” and is the legal principle that allows the state to intercede on behalf of juveniles, those who are mentally ill, and others who are unable to protect themselves. The parens patriae doctrine was first enunciated in English common law and referred to the king as exercising protective functions in his role as “father of the country.” The parens patriae doctrine should not be confused with the in loco parentis doctrine, which is more temporary in nature and not limited to governmental entities. [Source: Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law; Parens Patriae Doctrine]

Broader concept

forensic assessment in civil and criminal cases

Belongs to group

concepts

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/parens_patriae_doctrine

Download this concept:

RDF/XML TURTLE JSON-LD