Conclusions of the Seminar on the role of judges in local policies for deprived children: adolescents and families

Florence (Italy), 25-27 September 2000

 

Seminar organised by the CLRAE and the Istituto degli Innocenti in conjunction with the Council and Executive of the Region of Tuscany, the Province and City of Florence and the National centre for documentation and research on childhood and adolescence

Thirty or so representatives from Russia, France and Italy took part in a seminar on the role of judges in local policies for deprived children/adolescents and families. They included members of the judiciary, local elected representatives and policy-makers, social workers, and representatives of NGOs and associations.

The seminar was held in Florence (Italy) from 25 to 27 September 2000 at the Istituto degli Innocenti. It was organised jointly by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) and the Istituto in conjunction with the Council and Executive of the Region of Tuscany, the Province and City of Florence and the National centre for documentation and research on childhood and adolescence.

The participants are listed in Appendix I to the present document.

The seminar was chiefly intended as an indepth exchange of information and views on the implementation of CLRAE Resolution 74(1999) and Recommendation 53(1999) on policies for deprived children/adolescents and families, themselves a follow-up to the Final Declaration of the International Conference held in Saint Petersburg from 2 to 4 April 1998.

After the welcoming speeches by the authorities, the participants considered the following issues in five successive sessions: minors not living with their family; measures to assist minors and families with problems; dealing with juvenile delinquency; the judicial system; and the social system (organisation, functions and methods of protecting minors).

The seminar programme is set out in Appendix II to the present conclusions.

At the final session, which focused in particular on future co-operation, the participants stressed the fully relevant and topical nature of the principles set forth in the aforementioned basic texts, particularly the notion of protection, prevention and education instead of punishment, efforts to combat the abandonment of minors and poverty in families, the role of the family, gradual de-institutionalisation, reform of the juvenile courts, interaction between the judiciary and local authorities, the role of mediators, the gradual replacement of imprisonment by other means, the development of social work at all levels, support for associations/voluntary work etc.

As regards future co-operation, the seminar participants stressed the following points:

1. A proper policy for children and adolescents should be both global and local. At national level, the various data and information had to be gathered on a systematic and reliable basis. Furthermore, policy indications had to be transposed from central level and become firmly rooted in real local conditions. In short, any policy covered by a plan had to be based on the existence of appropriate specific knowledge. For that reason, the Istituto degli Innocenti in Florence, with its considerable experience in this field, was prepared to co-operate in the setting up in the Russian Federation of an Observatory for minors, involving and linking together the different bodies involved: the judiciary, local and national institutions and services, associations. It would be useful to harness such an observatory to a research and documentation centre to support policies at general and local levels. This co-operation could cover both the devising of the project and the training of the necessary staff, in Russia and in Italy.

2. The final goal should be a pan-European system of juvenile justice. A common approach was needed to combat crime without frontiers which resulted in the exploitation and abuse of children and adolescents, and sometimes their death. This required pooling of knowledge, so that dialogue could first be established, followed by joint action. In this connection, it was envisaged to create a European association of juvenile court judges, which was to be considered at a forthcoming European meeting of juvenile court judges from Council of Europe member states, to be organised by France. In the meantime, the Italian and French associations of juvenile court judges would be able to help their Russian colleagues create such an association in the Russian Federation.

3. To improve the Russian juvenile court system as well as interaction between the judiciary and the local authorities in that country, it was proposed that the systematic use of training in Russia, Italy and France be adopted, albeit gradually.

This would firstly entail training for specialised judges, on courses for juvenile court judges not only in France and Italy but also in Russia.

To bring juvenile court judges out of their isolation and build a bridge between them and the local authorities and other services, there should be improvements in the training of social workers, educators, youth mediators, street-workers and other Russian officials, not forgetting prison staff, inter alia in connection with the renewal and extension, from 2001 onwards, of the present experimental social work project run with a number of district courts in Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

In this respect, it would be expedient to involve institutions such as judicial training colleges and youth educator colleges in France. In addition, the participants noted with satisfaction the declared intention of the Region of Tuscany and the Province and City of Florence to make funding available for staff training within the judiciary and other institutions in Russia from 2001 onwards. The Province of Florence planned to propose an ad hoc partnership to the City/Region of Saint Petersburg for that purpose in the near future. Representatives of Italian associations, through the intermediary of national co-ordination bodies for the fostering and communal life of minors, offered co-operation on similar lines.

One specific form of co-operation mentioned was the drafting by specialists of manuals on juvenile justice that would be used for student training in the Russian Federation.

The seminar participants reacted favourably to the proposal to broaden contact to courts in other cities and regions of the Russian Federation through inter alia the holding of a European conference in Russia. The involvement of other Italian regions such as the Piemonte was also mentioned in this context.

4. On the operational level, the participants agreed to maintain ongoing contact, partly through "co-ordinators" (eg Mr Corghi, Mr Belotti, Mrs Baulon, Mr Baranger, Mrs De Marco, Mr Shilov, the CLRAE etc). The idea of incorporating other countries, such as Germany, in the group was not discounted.

The participants thought that it would be useful, at this stage, to consider holding a further meeting, in the form of a seminar or similar, to review the progress made, the apparent needs and possible assistance. Prior to that second meeting, which might take place in France, the participants undertook to study the written contributions presented at the Florence seminar, in order to prepare the way for joint efforts at that second event.

Co-operation with the Russian Federation had to be pursued both bilaterally and multilaterally within Europe. The representatives of Italian and French juvenile courts would approach their respective authorities for any support considered desirable or possible for continuing co-operation.

As regards the funding necessary to pursue co-operation, a distinction was drawn between national, regional and local funding on the one hand and European funding on the other hand. In particular, it would be expedient to make use of the funding made available by the European Union for co-operation with the countries of eastern Europe under the INTERREG programme or others. All those well versed or competent in the use of community funding, particularly on regional or municipal councils, were asked to help in this connection.

5. Links with the Council of Europe/CLRAE

The Chair of the Committee on Social Cohesion of the Chamber of Regions of the CLRAE, Mrs Mercan, and Mr Tessari would inform the committee of the seminar's findings at its meeting in Strasbourg on 5 and 6 October 2000. In future it would be necessary to maintain a link between the CLRAE and the group of co-ordinators drawn from the seminar participants.

The conclusions of the Florence seminar would be available in French, Italian, Russian, English and German.

Moreover, the CLRAE and its Secretariat undertook to reproduce, in several languages, all the written contributions submitted at the Florence seminar and to collate them in a CLRAE publication.

Finally, all the participants thanked their hosts in Florence, the Istituto degli Innocenti, the National centre for documentation and research, the Region of Tuscany and the Province and Municipal of Florence for making the seminar possible.