On October 13, 2020, an article by Hanna Kolesnyk and Ihor Svitlichny was published on the website of the Higher School of Advocacy
Current issues of protection of minors in criminal proceedings in the absence of a legal representative Or what hinders restorative justice?
Issues related to the protection of minors in conflict or in contact with the law should be given special attention by the state, without regard to restrictions on the application of the most severe measures of influence. In the context of the theory of social naturalism, Professor O. Kostenko notes: “The state should promote the education of a new generation of citizens, creating conditions in society to reconcile their will and consciousness with the laws of social nature.”
In view of the above, the question of how to solve the problem of parental involvement, legal representative, representative of the children’s service, psychologist, teacher, doctor, other persons who could help protect the child during criminal proceedings is relevant today; what restrictions the procedural rights of a lawyer contain in the CPC regarding the provision of legal assistance to a child who has the status of a suspect, accused, victim, witness in criminal proceedings.
It is known that in 2019 the “Recovery Program for Juveniles Suspected of Committing a Crime” was launched, which aims to ensure compensation for damage, maximally remove juvenile offenders from the criminal process and prevent them from committing recidivism. The legal basis of this program is a joint order of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General’s Office № 172/5/10 of 21.01.2019. In addition, there is a project called “Implementation of restorative justice in Ukraine”, which aims to apply restorative justice to prevent crime. The project is being implemented by the Supreme Court and the Institute for Peace and Understanding. Roman Koval, head of the institute and an expert on restorative justice, said: