engleski

Victims or Perpetrators, the Necessity of Adapting to Childrens Needs

This paper was written as an expert report for European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC) of the Council of Europe in the process of preparing European Guidelines for a Child Friendly Justice. It analyzes the challenges and the obstacles children face in the criminal justice system, existing programs and mechanisms to assist and protect children victims, witnesses or perpetrators i.e. the best practices of child friendly criminal procedures in various national legal systems and identifies the lacunae in existing international instruments dealing with children in the fields of human rights and criminal law. On the bases of these and taking into consideration the aims of future Guidelines on child friendly justice (to ensure protection of children rights in court and throughout criminal justice system, to rise awareness of the trauma child victims, witnesses or perpetrators experience during the investigation and prosecution of a criminal case, to secure the proper and appropriate treatment of child victims, witnesses or perpetrators, to reduce the harm they face with the criminal justice system as victims, witnesses or perpetrators, to promote general awareness of the availability of various mechanisms for obtaining justice and redress, including those of restorative justice, to contribute to the establishment of a new juridical order for children in Europe) as well as principles on which Guidelines should be based (non-discrimination, best interest of the child, the inherent right to life, survival and development, the respect for the views of the child) the author makes recommendations for child-friendly procedures or measures to be included into Guidelines. They address the following issues: treatment of children with dignity and compassion, the right to be informed, the right to be heard and express views and concerns (access to criminal proceedings, representation of children before the court, ways of expressing views and concerns of children), the right to protection from hardship during justice process (establishment of multidisciplinary child abuse teams, forensic interviewing, closing the courtroom for public, alternatives to live, in court testimony), the right to effective assistance, speedy trial, protection of privacy, the right to safety, the right to reparation, recovery & social integration, ways to simplify procedures, use of informal and community justice procedures, special preventive measures, exercise of discretionary power at all levels of juvenile justice administration.

Victims, Children

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