Annual conference dedicated to improving the rights of children in contact with the judicial system - February 24 and 25, 2022 in Belgrade

Датум

09.03.2022.

Локација

Belgrade

Аутор

Judicial Academy

Council for monitoring and improving the work of criminal procedure bodies and execution of criminal sanctions against minors, in partnership with UNICEForganized an annual conference dedicated to the promotion of the rights of children in contact with the judicial system, on February 24 and 25, 2022, in Belgrade.

Annual conference dedicated to improving the rights of children in contact with the judicial system - February 24 and 25, 2022 in Belgrade - Source: Judicial Academy

They were brought to the conference the following conclusions:

Children who come into contact with the justice system, either as perpetrators or victims and/or witnesses of criminal acts, often belong to multiple vulnerable segments of the population. These are often particularly vulnerable families with multisystemic problems, and individual children are often victims of abuse and neglect. Therefore, it is necessary to additionally support the child's family and the child itself through timely and early intervention and support, in order to identify families at risk in time.
A particularly vulnerable category of children are the Roma who, according to research Republic Institute for Social Protection and UNICEF, make up a disproportionately large percentage of children in conflict with the law, and it is necessary to identify and achieve cooperation with other state bodies, institutions and organizations that deal with improving the rights of Roma children in order to jointly define recommendations for improving their position.
The key is additional strengthening of the capacity of experts of all systems, as well as multi-sector cooperation, in order to develop an individualized approach adapted to the specific needs of the child in each specific case, in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child, for each child in contact with the law.

Children who committed criminal acts - educational orders

Recommendations for specific Council initiatives:

Referral of the Council's initiative to the ministries responsible for justice, social protection, state administration and local self-government and finance, to establish a solid and sustainable source of funding for programs and services for work with child offenders necessary for the implementation of all educational orders, non-institutional sanctions, especially special obligations and support after the execution of institutional sanctions, so that interventions and programs aimed at the child's proper development, resocialization and reintegration are available to children and families in all local areas.
Sending the initiative to the Ministry of Justice that one of the sources of financing should be provided from the funds collected on the basis of the postponement of criminal prosecutions - an opportunity.
Sending an initiative to the ministries responsible for justice, social protection and internal affairs to provide/continue the contoured training of experts in the juvenile justice system - judges, public prosecutors, experts in the social protection system, lawyers, police officers and service providers who implement various work programs with child offenders crimes, through specialized and joint training.
Sending the initiative To the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs to encourage the licensing of service providers who will include the implementation of educational orders in their work programs, especially those who provide socio-educational and therapeutic services.

Recommendations for experts:

The Council recommends the formation of multi-sector teams for the implementation of educational orders (judge, prosecutor, police officer and an expert from the center for social work) and solving juvenile cases at the local level, which would contribute to the strengthening of multi-sector cooperation and an individualized approach to each child.

Execution of criminal sanctions and mental health of perpetrators

Recommendations for specific Council initiatives:

Formation of a team, under the leadership of the Council, to create an action plan for improving the rights of children with mental disorders in conflict with the law, based on the research of the Republic Institute for Social Protection and UNICEF, which would foresee specific and concrete steps to improve the situation. The team would consist of representatives of the justice, social protection, health, internal affairs, and other experts in this field.
Referral of the initiative of the Council for an expert meeting of the relevant ministries to resolve the issue of establishing a special social-health institution or program in several institutions for children with compromised mental health and without adequate parental care who come into conflict with the law, and for whom immediate care, necessary health care would be realized treatment and individual programs aimed at the development, resocialization and reintegration of children.
Sending the initiative to the ministries responsible for social protection, police and education, for the formation of a multi-sector team for the promotion of the rights and prevention of criminality of criminally irresponsible children, as well as the development of appropriate assistance and support programs for children, parents and directly engaged experts.

Child victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings

Recommendations for specific Council initiatives:

Sending an initiative to the Ministry of Justice to specify the position of child victims and witnesses in the new Law on Minors and the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to clearly exclude the possibility of cross-examination of minor injured persons and the possibility of asking suggestive questions.
Sending an initiative to the Ministry of Justice to conduct training for all experts who come into contact with child victims and witnesses, considering that the Ministry of Justice, with the support of OSCE-E U, has equipped rooms for taking statements with the help of a video and audio link. A special proposal is to develop and A manual-guide for the actions of all experts participating in a procedure in which a child is a victim, which would provide concrete steps for carrying out an individual assessment of the needs of each child, taking into account the principle of the child's best interests as primary in decision-making.
Sending an initiative to the Ministry of Justice to amend the relevant court and prosecutor's rules of procedure in terms of marking cases in which minors have been harmed in order to ensure prompt action in such criminal proceedings.

Recommendations for experts:

The Council recommends, based on the provisions of the CPC, the mandatory engagement of professionals - psychologists, pedagogues and other professionals in every situation in which a child appears as a participant in criminal proceedings and to assign the status of a particularly sensitive witness to the injured child whenever possible.
The Council recommends the involvement of special experts for the application of a forensic interview, in all situations where this is necessary due to the specific status of the child, age, developmental disorders or acute condition of the injured child or witness.

Children in contact with the justice system and the media

Recommendation for a specific initiative of the Council:

Continue continuous cooperation with Regulatory body for electronic media (REM), establish cooperation with the Press Council and representatives of print and electronic media in order to protect child perpetrators and victims and witnesses of criminal acts and avoid secondary victimization through inappropriate reporting; to initiate joint gatherings with the aim of exchanging experience and sensitizing the media - and editors - through training on children's rights and sanctioning actions that do not comply with national regulations and international standards, given that there is already a ban on revealing the identity of a child.