Children's Rights and Criminal Justice

Objectives

• Understand the international and national legal framework regarding children's rights, specifically the minimum age of criminal responsibility, child-friendly justice and the right of children to be heard in judicial proceedings.
• Analyze recent trends in criminological research and intervention models that aim to reduce juvenile delinquency and improve justice.
• Exercise tools to effectively use children’s rights standards and mechanisms at the international and national level in examining transnational juvenile justice reform, diversion and alternative practices.

Audience

Professional who works with children’s rights issues: lawyer, psychologist, sociologist, judge, law enforcement officer, social worker, teacher, government official, staff from governmental and non-governmental organizations, academic and journalistic.

Overview

The plan of study consists of a one-week-long teaching programme online and includes reading, writing and practical learning exercises. 

You will learn from outstanding scholars about:

• minimum age of criminal responsibility.
• child-friendly justice, and the right of children to be heard in judicial proceedings.
• recent trends in criminological research, models, and practices of intervention to reduce juvenile delinquency, and improve justice.
• transnational juvenile justice reform.
• diversion and alternative practices.

Pedagogical methods

Dynamic methods combining lectures, group discussions and workshops allow the interaction between theory and practice.

Speakers

Selected prominent practitioners in international organizations and renowned international experts in children’s rights.

Admission criteria

Persons who wish to participate as an auditor to one or more of the executive training programmes are required to hold a university degree (or judged equivalent) and are expected to have at least two years of professional experience relevant to the programme. They must also have a very good working knowledge of English to participate actively in the programme.

This application consists of:

• the completed application form.
• a motivation letter.
• a short curriculum vitae (max. 3 pages) that includes education record, professional history and work experience in children's rights.

Applications to participate as auditor, have to be submitted in English by email or by post at least one month before the start of the programme. 

The Steering Committee will revise the application and provide the approval. The decisions of the Steering Committee regarding applications for auditors are final.

A limited number of auditors can be accepted to attend the programme. Therefore, early applications will be given priority and acceptance is granted on a first come first served basis.

Certificate

Participants receive a certificate of attendance to the specified programme(s).

Fees

Application Fee: CHF 150

Tuition fee: CHF 2’300

Director

Prof. Karl Hanson, Centre interfacultaire en droits de l’enfant (CIDE), University of Geneva.

Coordinator

Dr Roberta Ruggiero, University of Geneva