Understanding Children’s Court Processes and Decisions: Perceptions of Children and Their Families

Abstract

This article presents preliminary findings regarding children’s and families’ experiences of Children’s Court proceedings in which they are participants. The findings come from a systematic review of Australian and international qualitative literature in relation to how children and their families perceive and understand these court processes. The review reveals that we know little about children’s and parents’ perspectives. However, their insights are vital so that courts can reasonably address issues and concerns, give effect to obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989 and foster a problem-solving, therapeutic court approach.

Perceptions of Justice Involved Children on the Child Justice System in Nairobi County, Kenya

“…These views concur with previous research on perceptions of courts. Saunders et al (2020) in a meta-synthesis found that children and parents felt alienated by courts and experienced the court process as too technical and distressing.…”

“…Children Experiences of the Child Justice System… ~ 3 ~ Children courts are established by the children act, ( 2022), yet there are only two in the country that can fit the basic criteria of a child friendly court. In the rest of the country, adult courts are cleared for children matters with the alternative being having the cases heard in the magistrate's chambers (Wangamati et al, 2019) In a systematic review of literature children and families understanding of court processes, Saunders et al (2020), found that most children had no idea what was going on even though they were physically present in court because no one simplified the process for them. Studies show that children's experiences of probation officers play a role in their compliance to the conditions of probation (Fine et al, 2019).…”

“…Therefore, the manner of interaction with children may be influenced by the training the person has or dictated by the legal roles and mandates of the agency. Research shows that gaining views from children about their experience of the professionals and the services provided is critical as it provides feedback to the system on aspects of it that are therapeutic and those likely to be psychologically harmful (Saunders et al, 2020;Gearhart et al, 2021). When children come into contact with the justice system either as offenders, victims or witnesses, they may be treated as the invisible stakeholders, lacking agency and inclusion (Pealer et al, 2017).…”

“…Justice involved children are served by systems that have complex laws, legal structures and procedures that can be beyond the comprehension of a young person (Richardson et al, 2016). Adversarial court systems used by common law countries like Kenya are the most complicated as the child in conflict with the law is tasked to proof their innocence while the child victim is subjected to legal procedures to show their competence to testify (Bala et al, 2001;Oraegbunam, 2019;Saunders et al, 2020). Like adults, children may have certain expectations about the treatment they are likely to receive from each of the agencies they will ~ 2 ~ interact with (Fine et al, 2019).…”