On 14 November 2024, Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) hosted its third Judicial Roundtable, this time online, continuing its aim of ensuring that children’s rights remain central during a parent’s criminal proceedings. Building on discussions from previous events in Poland (2022) and Romania (2023), the roundtable brought together judges, legal professionals and experts to explore strategies for enhancing child-sensitive practices within the justice system and ensuring that judges have access to clear, reliable information on how sentencing decisions may impact children.

Key discussions points

Participants discussed a broad range of challenges and solutions related to the justice system’s approach to children impacted by parental imprisonment:

  • Implementation of children’s rights: while legislative frameworks may recognise children’s rights during a parent’s criminal proceedings, participants emphasised there remains a gap between written guidelines and their practical application.
  • Judicial training: there was consensus on the need for early-stage, continuous and multidisciplinary training for judicial professionals, incorporating perspectives from wider disciplines such as psychology and anthropology, to build comprehensive expertise in child-friendly justice.
  • Child Impact Assessments: participants highlighted the importance of ensuring children have a voice during sentencing, and that their voices are considered by judges. Discussions included how Child Impact Assessments are conducted i.e., which adults are best positioned to carry them out with children and the importance of letting children determine who conducts their assessments.
  • Collaboration between family and criminal courts: participants noted the disconnect between these courts, with family court judges showing greater awareness of children’s needs, than those of criminal courts. Bridging this gap was seen as crucial for fostering more holistic decision-making.
  • Raising awareness at an international level: the absence of specific provisions in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) addressing children with imprisoned parents was underlined. Participants called for the Committee on the Rights of the Child to consider a General Comment on this issue.   

Looking ahead

The insights gained from this roundtable will inform future COPE work to improve judicial practices across Europe to better protect children’s rights at the stage of a parent’s criminal court proceedings.