Special care is a unique form of state care specifically designed to provide secure accommodation, education and therapeutic supports for (adolescent) children with behavioural and conduct disorders. Although the provision of such care has evolved over time into a more structured and regulated form of care which is governed now by statute, this was not always the case. It was the lack of availability of any form of suitable care for children, generally adolescents, that resulted in cases being brought on behalf of children before the High Court, by way of judicial review, during the 1990s. The lack of a statutory framework resulted in the court exercising its inherent jurisdiction and ordering their civil detention to protect and vindicate their rights while having regard to their welfare needs. This thesis provides the first comprehensive legal study in this area in Ireland and uses empirical data from attendance at court hearings. It seeks to evaluate from a rights-based perspective, how and to what extent the court protects and vindicates the rights of these children within that court process. The doctrinal and socio-legal element of the thesis contextualises the court observational empirical study. The empirical element provides a valuable insight and understanding of the operation of the court system, the jurisdictional bases of the court, the hurdles to be overcome by various parties to the proceedings and its consequential effect on the rights of detained children. This thesis identifies that the current statutory court process regarding the protection and vindication of the rights of children, remains primarily welfare-based as opposed to rights-based, thus prioritising welfare over rights. Consequently, vigilance is required from a rights-based perspective to ensure that rights are not at risk of being subsumed by welfare concerns.