Access to Justice for Children, an Evolving Concept

Abstract

Nowadays, the access to justice for children has gained widely importance and has been addressed at the international as well as the domestic level. In the last decades this concept is further developed which led to considerable modifications and further revision of international and European legal framework and thus directly affecting the domestic legal systems and policies in place. Access to justice for children is affected by social and cultural practices that should aim to enable children to seek justice without fearing of any kind of discrimination, discriminatory practices and stigmatization. What is worth mentioning is the approach that combines the need to always guarantee the rights of the child in relation to information, participation and representation in administrative and judicial proceedings, recognizing these rights in all stages of the proceedings, considering that the private life, interests, special needs, individual dignity of the child must be respected, protected and further promoted. Part of this approach are also the legal and institutional reforms within the justice system and institutional organizations of professionals and services in a number of countries, including Albania. It is not enough to have laws and adopt a legal framework that formally outline and prescribe children’s rights and that tries to address their needs. These ought to be accompanied by applicable effective interventions and mechanisms that allow all children to gain the awareness and resources required to access the justice system, with no discrimination or prejudices.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3p103