Qualitative Change in the Approach to Judicial Proceedings Concerning Children
The ADJA Launches the 1st Training Programme
within the “Child Friendly Justice” Initiative
The Abu Dhabi Judicial Academy (ADJA) launched its first training programme under the “Child-Friendly Justice” initiative, which reinforces the leadership of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department to rank among the pioneering and leading judicial institutions in the world to have adopted this initiative aimed at bringing about a qualitative change in the approach to criminal and civil court proceedings, judgment writing in personal status, criminal and civil cases involving the presence of minors, according to the child friendly justice approach.
His Excellency Youssef Saeed Al Abri, Undersecretary of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) and Chairman of the ADJA's Board of Directors, said that the implementation of this initiative comes in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, to develop the judicial system and secure its global leadership, with a focus on keeping pace with the developments and changes to ensure the provision of the best judicial and judicial services.
Mr. Al Abri explained that the Judicial Academy aims to train members of the judiciary, particularly those specialising in personal status and criminal cases, as well as officers of the court and specialists working in the child protection field, to work in accordance with the requirements of the approach based on child-friendly justice when directly or indirectly concerned with a criminal case or with a civil or personal status case.
The Undersecretary of the ADJD announced that 5 short training films are being produced and will include lectures translated into Arabic, providing the necessary clarification of this approach, in a way that contributes to the modernisation and development of criminal, personal status and civil procedures as an integrated procedural and objective approach related to justice for children, the shapers of the future to whom the UAE pays the utmost attention and care.
In this context, Professor Helen Stalford, Professor and interim Head of the Law Department at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, and the Founding Director of the European Children’s Rights Unit (ECRU), delivered the first training workshop under the Child Friendly Justice initiative, via the ADJA’s electronic platform for distance learning and training, during which she addressed the child right-based approach and the skills to communicate with them at different stages of the judicial process and upon handing down court decisions.
Mrs. Stalford also reviewed the legal framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the legislation that ensures that the best interests of the child are fulfilled in all disputes, taking into account his rights and interests of the child and giving them the highest priority. She also underlined the importance of including procedures that allow children to express their views and be heard on issues that affect them directly, taking into account the age the child, his maturity and the circumstances surrounding the lawsuit.