Geri Capacities of attorneys in North Macedonia re-enforced on child-friendly justice

Skopje 7 April 2023
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Capacities of attorneys in North Macedonia re-enforced on child-friendly justice

50 attorneys from North Macedonia successfully completed the two online HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) courses on child-friendly justice. The courses aim to assist relevant professionals to get a comprehensive overview of European standards concerning justice for children and thus contribute towards a more successful and consistent application of the European standards in their daily work.

They were organised with the support of the European Union and Council of Europe action "Towards a consolidated and more efficient Free Legal Aid System in North Macedonia" and the project “HELP in the Western Balkans” funded by the Human Rights Trust Fund (HRTF), in co-operation with the North Macedonia Bar Association.

When faced with the justice system, children are thrown into an intimidating adult world which they cannot understand. It is therefore necessary to ensure that both access to and the processes within justice are always friendly towards children. In line with the 2012 Brighton Declaration, it is important to ensure that the professionals working within the competent authorities of the Council of Europe member States have comprehensive and professional knowledge of the European Court of Human Rights and its case-law on child-friendly justice.

“This course helped me to expand my knowledge about children's rights at the national level and I think that the acquired knowledge will help me in my daily work and future cases. The materials were easily available, extensive, and helpful.” - said one of the attorneys who successfully completed the course.

Another attorney in his feedback mentioned that: “As this was my first experience with this type of course, I am very satisfied with the content of the course, that we had enough time to read the materials at a time that suit us. I have no doubt that I would like to attend more courses like this.”

The course was translated and adapted in Macedonian language in 2020, with the support of EU/CoE Horizontal Facility programme and has been already successfully implemented in co-operation with the Bar Association several times in 2020, 2021 and in 2022. The success of the first rounds of courses sparked the interest and need to launch new courses on Child friendly Justice with the North Macedonia Bar Association.

Following the successful completion of the course the participants will obtain certificates that will also serve to the purpose of formally certifying attorneys to deal with cases involving children in accordance with the Law on Justice for Children.

The HELP online course on child-friendly justice is implemented within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe joint programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye".