Observing Juvenile Courtrooms: Testing the Implementation of Guidelines on Child-Friendly Justice in Spain

Abstract

In 2010, the Council of Europe adopted Guidelines on child-friendly Justice. This means, inter alia, developing an accessible justice system and focusing on respecting children’s rights to participate in and to understand proceedings. This research was conducted to establish the implementation of child-friendly justice through 129 observations in the courtrooms of two Spanish juvenile courts. The findings show that attempts have been made to comply with European standards, especially by judges who have implemented the required adaptations and encouraged the participation of children. However, the infrastructure does not appear to be the most appropriate, and questionable practices have been identified.