Units for the protection of child victims and witnesses in the criminal proceedings: Domestic legislation and practice

Republic of Serbia has invested maximum efforts in adjusting national legislation with the international legal framework, as well in fulfilling its obligations foreseen in relevant international documents, including the Child Rights Convention. The purpose of this paper is to present Units for the Protection of Child Victims and Witnesses in the Criminal Proceedings that were developed within the IPA project “Improvement of Children's Right through the System of Justice and Social Protection in Serbia”, funded by the EU, and implemented by the UNCEF in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy of the Republic of Serbia. The project was implemented from August 2014 to March 2017. The purpose of the Units is to ensure the best interest of children in situation when a child is identified as a victim or a witness of a crime and appears in the criminal or other court procedure. In this way, the state protects children who are important and infallible part of judicial proceedings from secondary victimization and traumatisation, given that the processes within institutions inevitably reflect on mental state of a child. Units were established in four cities: Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad, and Kragujevac, and they operate at the regional level. This enables that all children, even those in rural areas, will be provided with adequate assistance and support during preparations for the hearing, during criminal proceedings, as well as in its aftermath. The role of the Units is multiple: along with the support to children, it also includes support to the judiciary agencies since the hearing may be performed with a help of professional personnel, psychologist, pedagogue or social worker. Since the members of the Units are trained for conducting forensic interviews according to the Protocol of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, their involvement by the judiciary becomes even more frequent. They try to avoid possible harmful effects of proceedings on children's health, their personality, growth and development. This paper particularly focuses on the legal position and protection of children as suggested by the international legal framework, and relevant legislation in Serbia, which present the basis for establishing the Units. Additionally, the paper pays special attention to psychological aspects of children's development and their position in the judicial proceedings. The so far results of the Units’ work has shown that 103 children have been given support in judicial proceedings, 23 children have been given the status of a particularly vulnerable witness, 108 info-sessions have been organized for professionals in judiciary and the social welfare system in order to introduce the Units and enable them to use services that Units provide. The results also suggest that predictability reduces the feeling of uncertainty and contributes to strengthening children's trust in the judicial proceedings. However, this is only the beginning. A lot of efforts and work needs to be done in order to use the full potential of the Units. In this respect it is relevant to make a shift from project financing to the State funding.