Child-Friendly Justice in Action Erasmus Project

Project Title

Child-Friendly Justice in Action

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for youth

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Home and justice affairs (human rights & rule of law)

Project Summary

The diversity of justice systems in Europe is a major issue. Respect for children’s rights in the field of justice for children is relatively heterogeneous, while all European countries have signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Furthermore, juvenile justice systems in European countries remain insufficiently adapted to children and still lack an educational approach. They still too often favor a punitive approach. Justice institutions and individuals working in them are not sufficiently trained for educational intervention when confronted with children. Youth protection and juvenile justice professionals lack capacity and skills in this area. This system does not allow the young person to internalize the values and principles of society.
The Council of Europe and the European Union have in the lasts years developed an innovative approach in adopting various standards, guidelines and directives in the field of child-friendly justice. These standards aim at improving the justice system and adapting it to the specific needs of children. This entails creating a justice system which guarantees respect for and the effective implementation of all children’s rights. However these standards, that are still quite recent, are not enough disseminated and known by professionals working directly or indirectly with children in contact with the justice system.

The objectives of the project are to:
– Make sure that the voice of children is heard in litigation; guarantee the participation of children in all proceedings involving them
– Advocate for an adaptation of the judicial systems in line with children’s rights ;
– Make sure that the best interest of the child is taken into consideration also when the child is not directly concerned.
– Strengthening capacities of professional working directly or indirectly with children in contact with the judicial system

Main activities are:
– Mapping of good practices and existing tools in terms of child-friendly justice
– Need analysis of relevant organization of professionals working directly or indirectly with children in contact with the justice system
– Participative workshops with children concerning their needs/expectation/experience of the judicial system for children in each country (child participation)
– Writing of a toolkit on child-friendly justice including the mapping of good practices and existing tools in child-friendly justice; recommendations based on the need analysis of professionals; and recommendations based on the results of the participative workshops with children

The methodology used is based on a bottom-up approach which will enable us to extract not only the professionals’ needs working in the field but also the children’s needs in contact with justice.
In the first phase, the partners will map the most relevant organisations working with children in contact in justice in their country and question them about their needs related to a child-friendly justice approach. These organisations will receive a questionnaire which will be collected and analysed by each partner at national level. These analyses will then be sent to the coordinator of the project who will write a European common report, highlighting recommendations.
In the second phase, the partners will organize participative workshops with children in contact with justice in order to question them on their needs when they are facing the justice system. Based on the results of the 1st phase, children will be guided towards the expression of their needs in order highlight recommendations which will be included in the final output of the project, the practical toolkit for a child-friendly justice.
Finally, the coordinator will gather the results of the 1st phase and the 2nd phase in order to write the practical toolkit for a child-friendly justice.

The target audience are the youth worker in contact with young people in touch with the justice system and young people who were or are still in contact with justice. It will be approximately 80 young people and around several hundred professionals in Europe.

The project results will be widely disseminated in each country to youth workers, who will be better informed about the principles of child-friendly justice and will thus be better able to take them into account in their daily practices with young people. The project will have a great impact on the justice system to make truly child-friendly using the practical toolkit for a child-friendly justice as a reference.

Project Website

http://www.cfjnetwork.eu/child-friendly-justice-in-action

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 158625 Eur

Project Coordinator

DEFENSE DES ENFANTS INTERNATIONAL BELGIQUE BRANCHE FRANCOPHONE ASBL & Country: BE

Project Partners

• D.E.I.-France (Défense des enfants international – France)
• Spolek zastáncu detskych práv
• DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL ELLINIKO TMHMA
• DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL- ITALIA
• DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL-WORLD SERVICE
• ASOCIACIÓN PARA LA DEFENSA DE PERSONAS MENORES DE EDAD, DNI INTERNACIONAL – SECCIÓN ESPAÑA
• STICHTING DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL NEDERLAND – ECPAT NEDERLAND