Child-friendly spaces in Montenegrin judiciary

With support from the Norwegian Embassy and UNICEF Montenegro, first child friendly rooms introduced in three courts and three state prosecutor's offices in Montenegro to ensure appropriate child participation and care during judicial proceedings

PODGORICA, 22. SEPTEMBER 2021 – Going to a court, a prosecutor's office or to the police can be one of the most stressful events in the life of a child. To prevent this, it is necessary not just to have specially trained professionals for working with children in courts, prosecutors' offices, centers for social work and the police, but also to establish premises that provide a warm, safe and trustful atmosphere for children who want to testify about traumatizing experiences and express their view in all the matters affecting their life.

Thanks to the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade and UNICEF Montenegro, the Supreme Court and Supreme State Prosecutor's Office of Montenegro established child friendly spaces in three basic courts (Podgorica, Nikšić and Bijelo Polje) and three state prosecutor's offices (the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Berane and Podgorica and  the Higher State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje).

Each year, several hundred children in Montenegro are in contact with the law as victims or witnesses of crimes, while at least a thousand court cases concern children and their rights. These child-friendly rooms are designed and equipped in a way to reduce stress and support children to come forward with their stories. Active participation of children in their cases is beneficial both for them and for the legal process. It can help them recover, build self-confidence, develop a sense of responsibility, increase the understanding of their situation and facilitate finding innovative solutions that are in their best interest.
Creating the necessary preconditions for a child-friendly judiciary is part of Montenegro’s ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening the rule of law under the Chapter 23, one of the most important accession conditions to the EU.
The establishment of child-friendly facilities is one of the activities envisaged by Montenegro’s Strategy for Judicial Reform (2019-2021), as well as the Strategy for the Realization of the Rights of the Child (2019-2023).

In order for all children to have access to child-friendly justice system Montenegro needs to establish this kind of child-friendly rooms in the remaining 12 basic courts and 11 state prosecutor's offices in the country.
The establishment of the first child-friendly premises was realized within the subregional initiative "Equitable Access to Justice for Children" implemented by the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights in Montenegro in cooperation with the highest judicial institutions, with UNICEF technical support and financial support from the Government of the Kingdom of Norway.