Council of Europe

The child’s voice in justice: The 2013 report of Marie Derain, Children’s Ombuds in France

02/12/2013 - On the occasion of the International Day of the Rights of the Child, every November 20th, the Defender of Human Rights and the Children's Ombuds submit a thematic report on the rights of the child to the President of the Republic and the Presidents of the National Assembly and the Senate. Dedicated this year to the theme of of the Child’s voice in justice.

The report (in French), provides an overview and make several concrete proposals so that the opinion of child victims, witnesses or perpetrators of criminal acts finds their place in the judicial process, whether civil or criminal.

Considering that children are generally poorly or sometimes not informed at all, one of the report's proposals is to develop tools that provide information, which would join the European dimension of "Child-friendly justice" of the Council of Europe.