Newsroom on Children's Rights

Atrás Slovenia makes progress in safeguarding children’s rights in civil proceedings with the presentation of the new strategic documents

Key national stakeholders and international experts gathered in Ljubljana on 6 June 2025 for the second Roundtable of the European Union/Council of Europe Joint Project “Ensuring the best interests of the child in civil court proceedings in Slovenia.” The event marked an important step in Slovenia’s efforts to reform civil justice systems and strengthen the protection of children’s rights.

Participants included over 70 representatives from the Ministry of Justice of Slovenia, the European Commission, Council of Europe and other stakeholders. The roundtable focused on two main project deliverables:

Comparative study of services, methods and tools suitable to secure the best interests of the child in family proceedings in Council of Europe member and observer states and
Strategy and National Action Plan for ensuring the best interests of the child in civil court proceedings in Slovenia.

In her opening remarks, Mag. Andreja Kokalj, Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice of Slovenia described these documents as "the most important, comprehensive and advanced instruments in the field of children's rights in civil court proceedings", aligning with the Council of Europe's Strategy for the Rights of the Child, in which "child-friendly justice for all children" is a key priority.

Kjartan Björnsson, Head of Unit for Governance and Public Administration, SG REFORM, European Commission, recalled the 8-year partnership under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) that “demonstrates both the EU's long-term commitment and Slovenia's determination to become a pioneer in child-friendly justice. [Slovenia is] not just implementing reforms – [it is] creating excellence that spreads across all EU Member States.“

Roberto Olla, Head of Human Dignity and Gender Equality Department of the Council of Europe, reaffirmed the Organisation's commitment to supporting national authorities and stakeholders at every stage of implementation, calling the roundtable "a key moment to collectively reflect, share insights, and begin shaping the operational steps that will bring the Strategy to life.”

The event featured a presenationby Daja Wenke, Independent Researcher and Policy Analyst, on the Comparative study on services, methods and tools to secure the best interests of the child in civil court proceedings. Experts from Finland, Germany, Ireland and United Kingdom shared promising practices, highlighting innovations such as a programme on the determination of the best interests of the child, multi-agency risk assessment in cases of suspected domestic violence, specialised training for guardians ad litem and digital tools for children and parents concerned by parental separation.

Susanna Greijer, Legal and Policy Consultant on Children’s Rights, presented the Strategy and National Action Plan for Slovenia, developed through broad consultation with the Inter-Ministerial Working Group. Key priorities include:

Development of a national protocol for determining the best interests of the child, based on best practices in Europe,
A new web platform to better inform children and parents about their rights and procedures in cases of parental separation,
Targeted, inter-institutional training programmes for judges, ad litem guardians, lawyers, psychologists and social workers,
Improvement of the legal framework concerning the role and status of ad litem guardians,
Development of a risk assessment protocol in cases of suspected domestic violence.

The next step will focus on implementing the Action Plan priorities and continuing capacity building efforts for professionals working with children in civil court contexts.

The project is co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and co-funded and implemented by the Council of Europe, in close cooperation with the Slovenian Ministry of Justice.

Programme in English and Slovenian