engleski

Main challenges of Implementing the procedural rights of the child in southeast European judicial systems

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter: the Convention) guarantees the right of children to express their views in all matters affecting him or her and imposes a duty to the Member States to enable the participation of the child in judicial and administrative procedures in order to express his or her opinions, either directly or through a representative or an appropriate body, in accordance with the procedural rules of national law (Article 12). Legislation and practice of the courts and other bodies of the Southeast European countries do not follow, completely and in the same way, the requirements of Article 12 of the Convention, although all these countries are Member States to the Convention. Some of these countries have not made any further steps at the legislative level that are necessary to implement the right of the child to express his or her opinion in matters or proceedings which him or she is related. Furthermore, the practice of the courts and other bodies of the Southeast European countries in matters of deciding on the personal rights of the child do not follow the requirements of Article 12 of the Convention. In this paper will be analyzed the legislative solutions of the Southeast European countries on the participation of the child in the proceedings, as well as data collected on the enforcement of children's rights in proceedings before the courts and other bodies. In the contexts of the visibility of children, their participation and enforcement of their rights in the court proceedings, the paper will discuss the reform of Family Law Act in Croatia as a significant legislative step forward in the implementation of Article 12 of the Convention. Under the new Act from 2014, it is recognized the position of the child as a party in all cases in which decisions are made on his or her personal interests and rights, and furthermore the right to express his or her opinion in these cases. In addition, the issue of the place where the child will express an opinion, the manner in which this will be done as well as the participation of experts in expressing his or her opinions are regulated. The Act secures also the representation of the child regardless of his or her parents through 'the Office of the Children's Lawyer'. The paper will outline the basic guidelines, characteristics and problems of the current reforms in the Southeast European countries on the questions of the visibility of children, their participation and enforcement of their rights.

child; procedural rights; European judicial systems; family court proceedings

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