Child-friendly justice: Key terms

Children are full-fledged holders of rights. They are beneficiaries of all human and fundamental rights and subjects of special regulations, given their specific characteristics. This handbook aims to illustrate how European law and case law accommodate the specific interests and needs of children. It also considers the importance of parents and guardians or other legal representatives and makes reference, where appropriate, to situations in which rights and responsibilities are most prominently vested in children’s carers. It is a point of reference on both European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) law related to these subjects, explaining how each issue is regulated under EU law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as under the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter and other CoE instruments.

Inside this book you will read about the justice system and the problems in justice for children and how to fix the problems.

The treatment of children in justice systems remains a concern across the European Union (EU). With this checklist, FRA aims to help professionals by providing a list of actions that need to be taken for judicial proceedings to be child-friendly.

Around 2.5 million children participate in judicial proceedings across the European Union (EU)
every year, affected by parental divorce or as victims of, or witnesses to, crime. Although their
effective participation in such proceedings is vital for improving the operation of justice, the
treatment of children in justice systems remains a concern.

Each year thousands of children take part in criminal and civil judicial proceedings, affected by parental divorce
or as victims or witnesses to crime. Such proceedings can be stressful for anyone. The European Union Agency
for Fundamental Rights (FRA) investigated whether children’s rights are respected in these proceedings.