July 2022 - June 2024
JUST CLOSER aims at strengthening the respect of the procedural rights of children and youth in conflict with the justice system by valuing their voices and recommendations and promoting their active participation, while creating a child hub of positive role models and reinforcing skills of professionals working with and for children.
The specific objectives are:
- To give children the possibility to express their doubts, complaints, request information, claim their rights freely and receive adequate support from independent and supportive professionals and experienced peers.
- To create opportunities for officials and professionals in the criminal justice systems of the participating countries to hear the views of children and to engage with them in a constructive exchange on experiences and recommendations to promote the progressive implementation of national and EU law in this field.
- To strengthen cooperation among different European stakeholders foreseeing children’s active participation as a key variable in the respective national systems and to contribute to the harmonisation of practice in relation to the relevant legislation in different Member States and in view of EU law.
- To identify gaps and strengths of the existing legal framework at EU as well as at national levels and at the same time contribute to the harmonisation of practices.