Brussels, 06/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The MEPs of the committee on civil liberties have tightened up certain provisions of the proposed directive to set in place procedural guarantees for children suspected or accused of crimes.
The report by Caterina Chinnici (S&D, Italy) on this dossier was adopted on Thursday 5 February by 50 votes in favour, two against and with one abstention. The MEPs sought to ensure that, thanks to this directive proposed by the former Commissioner Viviane Reding, children will be individually assessed by qualified staff, can be heard and state their views in a trial and are held separately from adult inmates, even, in some cases, after the age of 18. An estimated one million children come into formal contact with the police and judiciary in the EU each year (or 12% of the total European population facing criminal justice), but legal protection for minors varies from country to country. Due to these disparities, in practice many children do not have access to a lawyer in the EU.
“This is a big step forward towards building a framework for further trials for children”, said the reporter. The assistance of a lawyer will be obligatory for children at all stages of the criminal proceedings in all EU countries, under the proposal. The MEPs added provisions all the way through the text to guarantee that the child's best interests are taken into account at all stages.
They have stepped up the safeguards for children in the proposal, such as the child's right to be promptly informed in simple language of the charges against them, and of the conduct of the proceedings and their rights. They also added a specific provision on children's rights to effective remedies and the following requirements, which include: once arrested, the child has the right to meet with the holder of the parental responsibility or another appropriate adult immediately and, in any event, prior to questioning; children should be entitled to participate fully in the trial, including being given the opportunity to be heard and to express their views; children must be detained separately from adults and may, after the age of 18, continue to be detained separately, unless it is considered in their best interests not to do so; and these rights would apply “irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, nationality, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status”. The vote of the civil liberties committee gives the rapporteur a mandate to start negotiations with the Council. (LC)