Children's Access to Justice: A Critical Assessment

This book explores children's access to justice, focusing on their participation in legal proceedings, challenges, and the roles of different actors in improving access. It highlights the universal nature of these challenges based on empirical research.

Format: Hardback
Length: 250 pages
Publication date: 04 April 2022
Publisher: Intersentia Ltd

Children's access to justice has become a crucial issue within the realm of children's rights. While international attention to child-friendly justice has been growing, research in this field remains relatively limited. This book, featuring contributions from researchers and practitioners, delves into the meaning, practice, and challenges of children's access to justice, aiming to enhance our understanding of what it means for children, how they experience it, and what it should ideally entail in practice. It seeks to define access to justice on a global scale, addressing current obstacles, raising new questions, and offering solutions to existing problems.

A central focus of the book is children's participation in legal proceedings, particularly in family law, criminal law, and child protection procedures. It sheds light on the unique challenges faced by groups of children, such as indigenous children, and explores the roles of various actors in justice, including judges, lawyers, institutions like independent child commissioners, and schools, as well as how they can improve children's access to justice. The book also highlights structural barriers to children's participation that are influenced by country-specific circumstances and the attitudes of adults towards children.

Many of the contributions in the book are based on empirical research, providing valuable insights from the perspectives of justice actors and children themselves. While the contributions are tailored to specific countries, the book effectively demonstrates how challenges to children's access to justice are universal in nature.

In conclusion, this book is a valuable resource for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners working to promote children's access to justice. It offers a comprehensive exploration of the concept, challenges, and opportunities associated with children's legal rights and provides valuable insights into how to enhance their access to justice in diverse contexts.

ISBN-13: 9781839701979