Six Romanian lawyers engaged in free of charge legal assistance to children in conflict with the law have been invited by Terre des hommes Foundation to participate in a study visit to Belgium, between 25-28 September 2022, within the CLEAR RIGHTS project (enhancing legal aid for children in Europe).
During the visit, the participants will gain a precise understanding of child justice system in Belgium through meetings with justice professionals, ombudspersons for children, key stakeholders.
The study visit will allow participants to exchange experience with other professionals and explore possibilities for cross country collaboration, discover the justice system for children in conflict with the law in Belgium and particularly how they have access to legal assistance, and build the lawyers’ capacities on specific difficulties children in conflict with the law may face.
Across Europe, despite common standards and norms, practices differ greatly from one country to another and even within a country. Therefore, the exchange between professionals from different countries and the discovery of another justice system are very important to strengthen the understanding of justice for children and its practices.
The study visit will be organised by Defence for Children International Belgium, the regional office of Terre des hommes Hungary, Terre des hommes Romania and PILnet.
The six lawyers will be accompanied by a representative of Romanian association ACTEDO (Equality and Human Rights Action Centre). This is an important collaborator, as Terre des hommes and ACTEDO are planning to sign a cooperation agreement in view of developing the pro bono lawyers’ network in Romania.
CLEAR-Rights project is coordinated by Terre des hommes regional office in Europe. It is implemented in partnership with the Alliance of Lawyers for Human Rights, Defense for Children Belgium, Defense for Children the Netherlands, PILnet and Terre des hommes Romania. The project is co-funded by the Justice Programme of the European Union (2014-2020).