JUST CLOSER Project
Respect and protection of children's rights, without discrimination and exclusion, as well as promotion of child-friendly justice are a priority and a duty of the State.
The adoption of Directive 2016/800/EU on procedural guarantees for children who are suspects or accused in criminal proceedings, which was incorporated into the Greek legal order with Law 4689/2020, is among the actions of the European Commission to support justice systems that respect the rights and needs of children and to adapt judicial systems to the needs of children. The purpose of this Directive is to establish procedural safeguards to a) ensure that children, meaning persons under the age of 18, who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings, are able to understand and follow those proceedings and to exercise their right to a fair trial, b) prevent children from re-offending and c) foster their social integration.
The JUST CLOSER program ('Justice Closer to children and their families' with the distinctive title 'JUST Closer', under reference 101056657 - JUST Closer - JUST-2021-JACC), which is co-financed by the European Union, focuses on the practical implementation of Directive 2016/800/EU and aims to enhance respect for the procedural rights of children and young people who are involved in criminal proceedings as suspects or accused persons, taking into account their opinions and proposals and promoting their active participation, strengthening, at the same time, the skills of professionals working with and for children.
The consortium consists of six (6) partners, coming from four (4) EU countries. : Greece – Ministry of Justice, Italy – Defense for Children (DCI) and University of Genoa, the Netherlands – NGO Young in Prison and University of Amsterdam, Spain – University of Valencia.
In Greece, for the implementation of the program, a Working Group was set up with decision no. 340/19.09.2022 of the Minister of Justice.
The program includes five (5) Work Packages and its duration is two years (July 2022 - June 2024):
1st Work Package: Overall coordination and management of the project
2nd Work Package: Establishment of a team of Young Trainers and Advisors (YT&A team) in Greece, Italy and the Netherlands (YT&A team) which will actively participate in capacity building, research and peer support activities, methodology exchange workshop, participatory needs assessment by YT&A group, youth voices podcasts.
3rd Work Package: Training of professionals working with and for children, setting up an Ambassador Group, video/podcast, online transnational exchange.
4th Work Package: Elaboration of a European Report and a Good Practice Guide for Directive 2016/800/EU (containing the Letter of Rights), Organization of a final Transnational Seminar.
5th Work Package: Preparation of detailed national reports on the implementation of Directive 2016/800/EU in Greece, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium, organization of an academic seminar in Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
The group of young YT&A of each partner country, after being properly trained, held a series of consultations with a group of children, who are still involved in criminal proceedings, with the aim of gathering their views, experiences and proposals regarding the implementation of Directive 2016/800/EU, having as starting point for the discussions the basic principles of child-friendly justice.
The results have been collected in the Participatory Needs Assessment Compiled Reports prepared by Italy, the Netherlands and Greece. The Report of Greece is also available in Greek.
