PPRO-Child: Protecting the Procedural Rights of Children in the Digital Age is an EU-funded project responding to the rapid adoption of digital technologies in criminal justice systems at both national and European levels. While digitalisation is often promoted as a way to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of justice for all, the uncritical use of tools such as remote hearings has raised serious concerns about their impact on children’s procedural rights and their access to fair trials. As one child involved in a remote hearing in Ireland explained: "I just feel like I’m not really a part of it, like I’m sitting there watching a YouTube video or something".
Our impact
To ensure the proper implementation of EU law on procedural rights, particularly Directive (EU) 2016/800, for all children suspected, accused, or sentenced for a crime, there is a clear need to closely examine how these rights are applied in increasingly digitalised criminal justice systems. This must be accompanied by the development of concrete measures based on an in-depth understanding of the experiences of children and other stakeholders, and complemented by novel and child-friendly solutions, mutual learning, and the exchange of good practices.
Implemented by Penal Reform International in partnership with Terre des hommes Hungary, Terre des hommes Romania, and Tierra de hombres España, PPRO-Child aims to strengthen procedural safeguards for children in the context of digital justice across the EU and Ukraine, with a particular focus on remote hearings.
Taking four diverse national contexts – Ireland, Romania, Spain and Ukraine – as a starting point, the project brings to light the rights and needs of children in conflict with the law during the digitalisation of justice. Through direct communication with local justice actors and children with lived experience of justice proceedings, it identifies key challenges and good practices in each country. These insights inform the development of practical, context-specific solutions, as well as tools and guidance to better protect children’s procedural rights more broadly.
Through cross-border knowledge-sharing at events such as the World Congress on Justice with Children and through advocacy at the EU level, the project takes its lessons and learning beyond the four focus countries, contributing to the strengthening of children’s fair trial rights across Europe.
