The EU and the Council of Europe expand the project for more child-friendly justice in four countries

France and Greece will test a new stage of the European project for children who come into contact with the justice system at national and local level, while Italy and Slovakia are participating as partner countries. The programme will analyse existing legislation and practices and develop tools on alternatives to detention, restorative justice and preventing reoffending.

The European Union and the Council of Europe have launched a new stage of their joint project for child-friendly justice, which will continue until June 2028. France and Greece will be the main countries where the project’s tools will be applied at national and local level, while Italy and Slovakia are participating as partners to exchange experience and develop common practices.

In brief
The second phase of the joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe runs from July 2026 to June 2028, and its public launch took place on 29 September.

France and Greece are the main intervention countries, where data will be collected, gaps identified and changes to legislation, policies and practices formulated.

Italy and Slovakia are participating as partner countries, while justice professionals will benefit from training and experience-sharing activities.

The European assessment tool will be expanded with three components dedicated to alternatives to detention, restorative justice, and preventing first offences and reoffending.

The project does not itself introduce a mandatory reform in all EU countries. It provides assessments, recommendations, tools and training to help adapt national systems to European standards on children’s rights.

The project concerns children who come into contact with the law in very different situations. They may be victims or witnesses, accused of committing an offence, or parties to civil, criminal or administrative proceedings or out-of-court proceedings. The aim is for procedures to be understandable, accessible and adapted to the child’s age, without reducing the protection of procedural rights.

Activities in France and Greece will include data collection and an assessment of how legislation and institutions operate in practice. The project will identify differences between European standards and children’s actual experiences and formulate recommendations for amending legislation, policies and procedures wherever shortcomings are identified.

Authorities will work at both national and local level. Justice ministries, legislators, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, police officers, social workers, psychologists and child-protection professionals are among the groups targeted. The project also provides training for staff specialising in child-friendly procedures.

A central element is the expansion of the child-friendly justice assessment tool developed during the first phase. It enables authorities to systematically examine whether a justice system respects children’s rights and needs before, during and after proceedings, and to identify areas where changes are needed.

In the new phase, the tool will receive three thematic annexes. The first concerns diversion measures and alternatives to detention designed for children. The second focuses on restorative justice, while the third addresses the prevention of first offences and reoffending.

Alternatives to detention seek to avoid deprivation of liberty when suitable solutions exist that protect both the child and the public interest. They may involve educational interventions, community measures or other forms of response adapted to the child’s age and situation, within the limits provided by national legal systems.

Restorative justice seeks a different type of response from an exclusively punitive procedure. Under the necessary conditions and safeguards, it may involve the person who committed the offence, the victim and the community in identifying the consequences and ways of making amends. The project will examine how such mechanisms can be safely adapted for children.

The component on preventing reoffending is based on the idea that the justice system’s response should also seek to reduce the likelihood of a child coming into conflict with the law again. The project will examine both the prevention of first offences and subsequent interventions, including the relationship between the justice system, social services and child protection.

Children and their carers are also a directly targeted group. The programme will develop activities to help them better understand their rights and the options available before, during and after judicial proceedings. Specific attention will be given to parents or guardians in vulnerable situations, including people with disabilities or psychosocial difficulties.

The second phase continues the work carried out between January 2024 and June 2026. During the first phase, Belgium, Poland and Slovenia applied the assessment tool and conducted self-assessments of their systems, while Greece, Hungary and Portugal participated as partner countries.

Experience from the first phase led to national recommendations and the development of a common tool available in several languages. It does not rank countries, but structures the analysis of elements such as children’s access to information, their participation in proceedings, privacy protection, the treatment of victims and witnesses, and the preparation of professionals working with children.

The Council of Europe defines child-friendly justice as justice that is accessible, age-appropriate, swift and focused on children’s needs and rights. The standards include the right to a fair trial, the child’s right to participate and understand what is happening, and respect for privacy, family life, integrity and dignity.

The project is based on the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Guidelines on child-friendly justice and is linked to the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the European Child Guarantee and the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child.

Funding is jointly provided by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers and the Council of Europe, while implementation is the responsibility of the Council of Europe’s Children’s Rights Division. The official materials published with the launch of the second phase specify the programme’s period and activities, but do not indicate the total budget.

The launch on 29 September also included the first meeting of the coordination committee for the new phase. Representatives of France, Greece, Italy and Slovakia presented the reforms and problems identified in their systems, while representatives of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and the European network for child-friendly justice also attended the meeting.

The project does not directly produce binding rules for all Member States, nor does it mean that the measures tested in the four countries have already been introduced across the European Union. The results are intended to identify practices that can be applied more widely and support countries wishing to adapt their legislation and institutions to European standards on the rights of children in contact with the justice system.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/ue-si-consiliul-europei-extind-proiectul-pentru-o-justitie-mai-accesibila-copiilor-in-patru-state