Submitted by crinadmin on
A new law which was designed to protect children in difficult custody cases has resulted in more children being dragged into the courtroom. At the beginning of the year, a child protection law went into effect which requires all children over the age of 12 to have their opinions heard in cases where social workers suspect thier parents might be unfit. In theory, this was to make it possible for a child advocate or other legal expert to interview the child outside of the courtroom, and then present the child's opinions in court or through an affadavit. However, the law has backfired, and resulted in more children actually taking the stand. "There are children who are scared, and others who are pretty brave," says Hämeenlinna's chief justice Heikki Jukarainen. "But my own view is that kids under the age of 15 have no business in the courtfoom. Children can't understand where they are and what it's all about." In many of these cases, Jukarainen says, it forces a child to hear their parents accused of substance abuse or criminal activity. The law has blurred the difference between hearing a child's opinion and making them a claimant in the case. This has opened a curious judicial door, in which theoretically, a child could have the right to appeal the custody decision to a higher court. So far, however, this has not happened. Further information
pdf: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/02/new_child_protection_law_forces_c...Association: www.yle.fi