Training on the rights of children suspected or accused of violating the law

FORUM together with its partner the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is holding an online training seminar on the rights of children who are suspected or accused of violating the law within the European Union.

The training (16-18 February 2021) focuses on the right of a child in conflict with the law to an individual assessment, under Article 7 of EU Directive 2016/800 on procedural safeguards for children suspected or accused in criminal proceedings. The individual assessment of the particular circumstances and needs of the child provides an important guarantee which, if implemented through a rights-based approach, can ensure that the best interests of the child are protected and that the child’s rights are upheld throughout the criminal justice process.

The training brings together some of the key professionals involved in implementing individual assessments in the Czech Republic and Slovakia – over 20 lawyers and 20 social workers from both countries working in the field of child justice. Speakers at the training will consider the approach to the individual assessment in light of international human rights law as well as experiences from other EU Member States. They will explore the potential of the restorative justice approach to ensure that the child has practical and effective opportunity to actively participate in the proceedings.

Speakers include Mikiko Otani, ICJ Commissioner and member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Dainius Puras, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, as well as judges and academics other EU Member States and from the European Forum on Restorative Justice, FORUM and ICJ.

See the full agenda here:

in English
in Czech
in Slovak.

This project was funded by the European Union’s Rights, Equality, and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The content of this publication represents the views of FORUM only and is its sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.