Between 2018-2020, all European DCI National Sections implemented the CFJ-IA project, with the financial support of the European Commission via the ERASMUS+ fund. From the onset, the project set out to champion the Child Friendly Justice principles enshrined in the Guidelines of the Council of Europe, a set of recommendations and directions for professionals working with children entering in contact with the justice system, whether as victims, offenders, or witnesses of a crime.  

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Children can be involved in judicial proceedings, either directly, as a defendant, victim, witness or indirectly when decisions have a considerable impact on their lives. However, judicial systems in Europe are not always adapted to the specific needs of children and their vulnerability.

 

All European Union Member States have an obligation to ensure that children’s best interests are being considered when they are involved in criminal and civil judicial proceedings. Without properly trained professional or suitable settings, children are at risk of being traumatized if procedures are not child friendly.

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The objectives of the project“ Child-Friendly Justice in Action !” were to :

 

• Make sure that the voice of children is heard in litigation; guarantee the participation of children in all proceedings involving them

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• Advocate for an adaptation of the judicial systems in line with children’s rights

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• Make sure that the best interest of the child is taken in consideration also when the child is not directly concerned

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• Strengthening capacities of professionals working directly or indirectly with children in contact with the judicial system.

 

 

All partners followed a common methodology to lead the research, which took place in two phases. Firstly, a total of 113 professionals across the 7 countries completed a questionnaire, inviting them to describe their knowledge, understanding and application of child-friendly justice principles in their day-to-day work involving children. In a second phase, around 30 children took part in workshops and interviews to describe their experience of the proceedings they took part in and share recommendations. The findings were further completed by desk-based research in each of the partners’ country, with the view to highlight bottlenecks but also good practices found among professionals when dealing with children during administrative proceedings.  

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The findings of the project are summarised in national reports (in the national language and translated to English) as well as in a consolidated European report, highlighting trends and key recommendations to improve the implementation of Child-friendly Justice principles in Europe. The document can be used as an advocacy tool for human and children’s rights organisations when addressing key stakeholders. The project further produced a Toolkit for Professionals, designed as a “registry” of good practices, tips and useful resources to support professionals in mainstreaming child-friendly principles into their work. Finally, the project has compiled a short document capturing the Voices of Children interviewed, through compelling quotes highlighting their experiences of the asylum hearing procedures during their journey of migration

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Partners

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DCI-Belgium (coordinator), DCI-World Service, DCI-Greece, DCI-Spain, DCI-Italy, DCI-France, DCI-Czech Republic, DCI-Netherlands

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Find more here : www.cfjnetwork.eu/

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European Paper Position (DEI Belgique, DCI Greece, DCI Italia)

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