Units for the protection of child victims and witnesses in the criminal proceedings: Domestic legislation and practice
Authors: Milosavljevic-Djukic Ivana , Tankosic Bojana , Petkovic Jara , Markovic Marija 
Published: July 2017

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.