Increasing numbers of children and teenagers find themselves in a court of law, be that as a victim or a witness. This is why it is important to have an effective youth protection legislation, in order to guarantee and strengthen the rights of these young people. Luxembourg is currently working on a new draft bill. In order to discuss this project, MPs welcomed Renate Winter on Monday.
MPs from the Justice Commission welcomed the President of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for a discussion on a fairer justice system for children and teenagers. On Sunday evening, Winter had already criticised the proposed legislation for the new youth protection legislation: "The way it looks right now, it is not usable, to put it that way. There are things that belong into a law, that are missing. There are some other things that are in the draft, but don't belong there. One also shouldn't forget that Luxembourg has international obligations, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child."
Not everything in the draft bill is bad, is it?
"No, no, by no means. It is just not complete, so to say. And the law contains something it shouldn't. Criminal law should be separate and doesn't belong into a youth protection legislation."
Luxembourg is very preoccupied with keeping children and teenagers safe, but there are no legal guarantees, which are needed in criminal law. Winter commented: "We have suggested and are thinking about whether it might be possible, and I think it is, to take the first part of the law as youth protection legislation and to see what we can fit in there, especially to protect children who have got nothing to do with criminal law. That should be the first part. The second part could then cover criminal law an include all the main guarantees that aren't currently in the draft bill."
