‘Children in Criminal Procedure : Friendly Law’: Analysis of the Government Draft Amendments to Some of the Legal Acts in Poland

Abstract

The considerations undertaken in the scientific article constitute an analysis and evaluation of the solutions included in the government's legislative proposal aimed to change the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Family and Guardianship Code, and the Law on the System of Common Courts with regard to the position of minor victims. The legislative initiative is a significant change that aims to improve the protection of children participating in criminal procedures. This legal act’s draft indicates the provision of a special position to children in the criminal procedure. If children happen to be the aggrieved parties in criminal procedures, they deserve to be met by the court and participants with exceptional awareness and sensitivity. I am of the opinion that the criminal procedure must be structured in such a way that the participating children feel safe. The judiciary should aim to be child-friendly. It is extremely important that children feel understood as well as they understand the new legal reality in which they find themselves. In this analysis, I have referred to the regulations on the protection of children's rights under the international law and the law of the European Union. In this study, I have laid emphasis on the point that the proposed legislative solutions should meet the assumptions of the European directives issued by the European Union institutions as well as the Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on child-friendly justice, the main act on the protection of children's rights issued by the Council of Europe.