Advancing the Defence Rights of ChildrenManual for Trainers

Considering the reality that in most EU Member States lawyers do not get the training they need to assist children. This training programme was designed. Nonetheless it is not intended to be a substitute for a comprehensive training programme that ‘makes’ lawyers experts or specialists in defending child suspects and accused persons. It is instead a brief training course designed to help busy criminal defence lawyers to be better aware of the relevant laws and to be more mindful in the ways they interact with their child clients. This is done by equipping lawyers with basic legal knowledge of children’s rights in criminal proceedings, and by introducing them to the practical skills and knowledge we believe are crucial for protecting the rights of children in conflict with the law. We also hope that this training course to appreciate (if they did not do so already) that assisting children requires very specific skills that lawyers need to develop through further training and experience.