Child abuse and the movement towards a child friendly justice system, with particular focus on the Draft Minor Protection (alternative care) Act 2018

Abstract

Child abuse has a longstanding prevalence among mankind and it is the obligation of States to not only safeguard minors from such abuse, but also has to ensure that the victimised minors are able to seek justice with minimal harm to their wellbeing. In view of this, this paper analyses how legislative systems, particularly the Maltese corpus juris, have adopted and implemented a child-friendly justice system to create a balance between the rights of due process of both parties while taking into consideration the natural status of minors, that is vulnerability stemming from their age. For the realisation of this analysis, a thorough outlook is given to the international progression towards a child-friendly justice, taking into account the UNCRC and relevant case-law. This is then followed by a focused observation of the Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act, which Act is considered to be a breakthrough in child protection legislation, ushering in a childfriendly justice system. The study concludes that, in theory, this Act has created a successful framework of childfriendly justice and is a move in the right direction, especially since it has introduced measures for child-centric procedures, with minimal harmful effects on minors, such as through the introduction of the Children’s House. However, in practical terms, this success is still undetermined, and thus, to fully acknowledge whether a child-friendly justice in Malta has been attained, it is necessary to wait until the Act is fully in force.