Child-Friendly Justice in Europe – Participation and Restorative Justice - 12 May 2020

@CoE - Gaby Herbstein
Every year, thousands of children across Council of Europe member states are involved in judicial proceedings. Whether a victim of crime or in conflict with the law, they are often vulnerable and in need of protection: in other words, they need justice systems to be “child-friendly”.

To explore child-friendly justice, the Georgian Presidency of the Council of Europe prioritised the organisation of a High-Level Roundtable (23 March 2020), with a focus on fostering child participation and restorative justice. In light of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, this event was not able to go ahead. However, to raise awareness of this important topic, and support exchange of knowledge, the Council of Europe has developed this dedicated webpage, which pools the High Level Speakers' Statements and relevant key resources.

The Roundtable aimed to promote key principles, as laid out in instruments like the Child-Friendly Justice Guidelines and Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)8 on restorative justice in criminal matters, as well as recent case-law of the European Court of Human Rights. It also aimed to provide a platform for pan-European exchange of knowledge, practice and challenges in the field.

@CoE - Photo by Gaby Herbstein

Statements and Conclusions

Statements

Opening Session

Children in the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights

Upholding the rights of the child in justice systems: Strengthening solutions for children as victims and rights bearers

Children and Justice - various proceedings, various challenges

General overview of the situation of children in justice systems, and a particular case of Georgia

  • Ms Renate WINTER, Vice-Chairperson of the United Nations Committee for the Rights of the Child (UN CRC)

Child-friendly justice – Slovenian experiences and future plans

  • Ms Dominika ŠVARC PIPAN, State Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Slovenia

Addressing the needs of children in administrative and civil proceedings: 10 years of Child-friendly justice guidelines

  • Ms Kai HÄRMAND, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Justice, Estonia, member of the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ), Council of Europe

Child-friendly approaches in the context of migration 

Finding the right response for upholding the rights of the children in conflict with law: towards restorative justice in Europe

Are we there yet? Addressing the rights of children deprived of liberty in Europe

Developing Restorative Justice in Europe

Restorative justice-Georgian experience and remaining challenges

The role of Parliaments for restorative justice

Concluding remarks and official closing

  • Ms Thea TSULUKIANI, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Georgia

Conclusions

Conclusions by the Georgian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe