Child-friendly justice ” “

74 thousand minors are “victims of crimes” and 495thousand have been “involved in their parents’ divorce”, and therefore involved in civil or criminal prosecutions. These figures date back to 2010 (the only ones available so far in this area) and they refer to 11 EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, UK, Romania and Spain. To understand whether the rights of these and many other children and young people are protected during the proceedings, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has just published the document “Justice in a child: perspectives and experiences of professionals”, resulting from a survey conducted among 570 people in this sector including judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court staff, psychologists, social workers and police officers. The theme of the treatment of minors in criminal proceedings is enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child of the UN, ratified by all EU Countries, as well as in the “Guidelines for a child-friendly justice” of the Council of Europe, which in the light of the principle of the higher interest of the child, identifies for minors involved in trials the right to “be listened to, informed, protected, as well as the right to non-discrimination”. The recent document published by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), with head offices in Vienna, takes stock of the progress and shortcomings of the Member States in this area, providing important “best practices”. The right to be listened to. Court hearings in civil and criminal proceedings are traumatic experiences for minors. However, if there is cooperation among all those involved, “if minors are listened to by qualified experts and there are guidelines on how to proceed”, “if the number of hearings is contained and there are few people”, the outcome is that anxiety should not prevail and that minors release “more valid and less influenced statements”. In England, Scotland and Finland, for example, there are “guidelines regarding court hearings of minors victims or witnesses of crimes” whereby “police officers and social workers purposely trained jointly carry out the hearings”. It is therefore necessary to train professionals on “child-customized court hearings”, ensuring that a “trusted person, regardless of the parents of the child, assists the minor in all the stages of the legal proceedings” to inform him and prepare him for the hearings. Right to information. Minors should be informed – continues FRA – on “their rights, the stages of the proceedings, of what should be expected in the hearings and the availability of protection measures”, according to age and developmental stage of the child. Thus in some French cities “contact points” for minors offer the information and legal assistance by specialized lawyers on civil and criminal questions, through free and private meetings, or hotlines and awareness meetings in schools. More effort is needed as regards the definition of compulsory procedures on “place, time and ways in which the minors need to be informed, on what they need to know and who should give them the relevant information”. Sometimes it happens that existing support services focus on serious crimes (trafficking or sexual abuse) or that the minors and their parents fail to receive sufficient information on available services. The right to be protected and to private life. Among those attacking this right there are the media “who should not publish personal information on minors and their families, including names and surnames, photos and addresses”. In general, “access to personal data and their transmission should take place only if strictly necessary, always taking into account the higher interest of the minor”. Also in this case it’s fundamental to have the appropriate environments to avoid contacts with the minor and the defendant not only during the court hearings, but also before and after them. No discrimination. Disabilities, nationalities and ethnicity appear to be three areas where the violation of non-discrimination rights are more likely to occur. The efforts carried out in the United Kingdom of translating existing child-friendly material in various languages as well as the publication guidelines on the questioning techniques with people affected by intellectual disabilities are a response to this risk. Training and cooperation. A fundamental aspect to ensure the effective participation of minors in civil and penal trials is the presence of trained professionals. Legal workers should perfect their knowledge of the needs and rights of minors, on communication techniques according to age and personal circumstances. Those pertaining to the social sector require training in the field of child legislation. It is equally important to improve “professional cooperation between different disciplines, to expedite legal proceedings and further decision-making processes” as in Germany, (Münchner Modell) where especially in cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse the auditions of minors are video-recorded and the recordings and available to all the parties involved in the proceedings (lawyers, minor protection services, legal advisers.