The article describes and analyses the legal framework concerning children’s participation in research in Sweden. Research on children is one way to improve children’s living conditions. For example, there is a need for knowledge about children’s and young people’s situation at home, at school, in community care and in correctional facilities. It is inevitable that there arise both ethical and legal issues concerning this research. A law has been in force since 2004, which deals with vetting the ethics of research that involves humans, i.e. the Act (2003:460) concerning the Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans. The article aims to analyze the legal preconditions according to this legislation for conducting social science research on children and young people in Sweden and to discuss the child’s status as a research person from a child-rights and vulnerability perspective. In addition to the legal framework, decisions by the Central Ethical Review Board that concern research on children within the social sciences are examined and discussed
