Both at national and European levels, fast-paced adoption of digital technologies in criminal justice proceedings aims to support effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of justice for all. Yet, concerns have been raised about the impact of uncritical adoption of technological solutions on the safeguarding of children’s procedural rights and their access to fair trials. This is particularly the case for remote hearings.
To ensure the proper implementation of EU law on procedural rights, especially the Directive 2016/800, for all children suspected, accused or sentenced for a crime in increasingly digitalising criminal justice systems, there is a strong need for a closer look into these judicial practices and developing concrete measures based on an in-depth understanding of the experiences of children and other stakeholders. These should be complemented by novel and child-friendly solutions, mutual learning, and the exchange of good practices on procedural safeguards of children.
Taking on this challenge, Penal Reform International and Terres des hommes Hungary, Terres des hommes Romania and Tierra de hombres España are implementing the EU-funded ‘Protecting the Procedural Rights of Children in the Digital Age – PPRO-Child’ project. Funded under the EU JUST Programme, the project aims to strengthen procedural safeguards for children in the context of digital justice across the EU and Ukraine, with a specific focus on remote hearings.
Taking four varied contexts – in Ireland, Romania, Spain and Ukraine as a starting point, the project brings to light the rights and needs of children in conflict with the law during the digitalisation of justice. Through direct communication with local justice actors and children with lived experience of justice proceedings, it aims to develop practical solutions tailored to the problems identified in each country, along with tools and guiding documents for the better protection of children’s procedural rights at a broader level. Cross-border knowledge exchange and advocacy at the EU level take lessons and project learnings beyond the four focus countries, supporting the strengthening of children’s fair trial rights across the region.
Project’s Story:
The project initiated with the research component, where we investigated the remote hearing practices and other digital practices. For implementation countries, we adopted a detailed approach and carried out Rapid Needs Assessments (RNAs) in each, following a shared methodology that ensured comparability across contexts. These assessments formed the evidence base for the fact sheets and the cross-country analysis report, offering a clearer understanding of how digitalisation affects children in conflict with the law.
The project has also facilitated dialogue and knowledge exchange through national and regional roundtables in each country, bringing together dozens of key justice actors to discuss perspectives on the digitalisation of child justice. Drawing on this engagement and the project’s broader evidence, partners developed a 10-point plan providing clear and evidence-based recommendations to ensure that digital tools do not risk or violate children’s rights, including the right to a fair trial, meaningful participation, privacy and legal representation. The plan is designed to support law and policymakers, judicial practitioners and researchers working at the intersection of child justice and digital reform (available in English, French, Romanian, Spanish and Ukrainian here). The knowledge gathered and created through the project has been shared on various platforms, including the World Congress on Justice with Children, and with key stakeholders and the CoE, EU and UN through advocacy missions and meetings.
To meaningfully include children’s voices, Child Advisory Boards (CABs) were established in participatory countries. The advisory boards are composed of children with lived experience of justice proceedings and remote hearings, created using a dedicated methodology and have contributed directly to multiple phases of the project, including the RNAs and continue to inform the implementation of the project. Their insights ensure that proposed measures reflect the realities and needs of the children most affected by digital justice reforms.
At this current stage of the project, we are working on developing country-specific solutions to better safeguard children in remote hearings. These solutions will be shared along with a set of guidelines for justice stakeholders, detention facility practitioners and children. Finally, the project will develop a policy paper on EU law, highlighting the needed changes for the better safeguarding of children in the digitalisation of justice. All project findings will be shared in September through a hybrid event in Brussels.
Project resources
Reports
Upholding children’s rights in remote hearings in child justice systems: Lessons from four jurisdictions (Ireland, Romania, Spain, Ukraine)
10 point plan: Protecting the procedural rights of children in the digitalisation of justice
Country-specific factsheets
Ireland
Romania
Spain
Ukraine
Project materials
