115International dimension of a juvenile justice
Olena ZAVORINA
Kharkiv National University of Internal Aairs, Kharkiv
Ukraine
ORCID: 0000-0002-7477-3570
u-kafedra@ukr.net
INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION OF A JUVENILE JUSTICE
MIĘDZYNARODOWY WYMIAR SPRAWIEDLIWOŚCI
DLA NIELETNICH
Abstract: The article legally analyses international standards of the interrogation of juveniles
who are suspected of having committed a criminal oence. The procedural order and tactical
features of the interrogation of a minor, that are outlined in international law, are analysed.
The author denes the criteria, specic rules of interrogation, as well as requirements for such
procedural action. Further improvement of national legislation in accordance with international
standards in the eld of criminal procedural support of pre-trial investigation is necessary.
Zarys treści: Artykuł prawnie analizuje międzynarodowe standardy przesłuchiwania nie-
letnich podejrzanych o popełnienie przestępstwa. Przeanalizowano porządek proceduralny
i cechy taktyczne przesłuchania nieletniego, które są określone w prawie międzynarodowym.
Autorka określa kryteria, szczegółowe zasady przesłuchania, a także wymagania dotyczące ta-
kiego postępowania procesowego. Niezbędna jest dalsza poprawa ustawodawstwa krajowego
zgodnie z międzynarodowymi standardami w dziedzinie postępowania karnego wspierającego
postępowanie przygotowawcze.
Key words: international standards, interrogation of a juvenile, criminal oence, European
Union, national legislation
Słowa kluczowe: standardy międzynarodowe, przesłuchanie młodocianego, przestępstwo kar-
ne, Unia Europejska, ustawodawstwo krajowe
Formulation of the problem
International standards of interrogation, including of juveniles who are suspected
of having committed a criminal oence, should be dened as normative requirements,
enshrined in the format of generally accepted principles and norms, which provide
for the minimum necessary procedural rules of criminal proceedings, which become
mandatory for a particular state after ratication. In fact, international standards are
115
115gl;;
Nr 6 ss. 115–123 2021
ISSN 2543–7321 Przyjęto: 05 .04 2022
© Instytut Bezpieczeństwa i Zarządzania, Akademia Pomorska w Słupsku Zaakceptowano: 05.04.2022
Oryginalna praca badawcza DOI: 10.34858/SNB.6.2021.010
STUDIA NAD BEZPIECZEŃSTWEM
116 Olena Zavorina
aimed at providing the necessary legal status of a person. Any non-compliance with
such standards should be considered a violation, have negative consequences for the
perpetrators and provide a set of measures to restore violated rights and freedoms.
The study of the components of the procedure of interrogation of a minor such as
age, duration of interrogation and the composition of the participants of the investiga-
tive (search) action, etc., allows us to conclude that the problems associated with the
involvement of a teacher or psychologist, legal representatives or video recording of
the interrogation exist not only in Ukraine.
Analysis of research and publications
The general international legal acts that establish the requirements for a pre-trial
investigation include the following:
1. The Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the International Court
of Justice.1
2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.2
3. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.3
4. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.4
5. Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.5
6. Convention on the Rights of the Child.6
7. Guidelines on justice in matters related to the participation of child victims and
8. witnesses of crime.7
1 The Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the International Court of Justice, Da-
tabase „Legislation of Ukraine”, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/
show/995_010#Text, [access: 23.02.2022] (in ukrainian)
2 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Database “Legislation of Ukraine”, Verkhovna Rada
of Ukraine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_015#Text, [access: 23.02.2022] (in ukrai-
nian).
3 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Database „Legislation of Ukraine”,
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_043#Text, [access:
23.02.2022] (in ukrainian).
4 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Database „Legislation of
Ukraine”, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_042#Text, [ac-
cess: 23.02.2022] (in ukrainian).
5 Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Databa-
se „Legislation of Ukraine”, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/
show/995_086#Text, [access: 23.02.2022] (in ukrainian).
6 Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989 (as amended by UN General As-
sembly resolution 50/155 of 21 December 1995), Database “Legislation of Ukraine”, Verkhovna
Rada of Ukraine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_021#Text, [access: 23.02.2022] (in
ukrainian).
7 Guidelines on justice in matters related to the participation of child victims and witnesses of
crime. International document adopted by the United Nations on July 22, 2005, Database “Leg-
islation of Ukraine”, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_
e54#Text, [access: 23.02.2022] (in ukrainian).
117International dimension of a juvenile justice
One of the dening documents detailing the requirements for questioning a child wit-
ness or victim of criminal abuse is the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of
Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention 2007, CETS
№ 201), ratied by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 27 August 2012. In particular, Art. 35
of the Convention directly concerns interviews of children.
Working on the above raised topics, we considered the works of many Ukrainian
and foreign researchers in this eld. As a rule, scholars in the eld of criminal pro-
cedural law examine the following criteria for the interrogation of a juvenile: venue,
duration and frequency. At the same time, the issue of regulation of juvenile interroga-
tion is considered by criminologists and specialists in the eld of child and adolescent
psychology in the context of the child’s age, requirements for the subject of interroga-
tion and prevention of re-victimization, etc.
The purpose and task of this article is a scientic and theoretical substantiation
of the modern signicance of international standards of interrogation of a juvenile
who is suspected of having committed a criminal oence.
Analysing the legislation of dierent countries, including Poland, Romania, Rus-
sia and Great Britain, etc., we can identify the following components of the procedure
for interrogation of a minor:
1. The age of the minor, as the duration of the interrogation depends on this. The
Ukrainian scientist N.V. Pavliuk provides the following recommendations on the du-
ration of the interrogation of a juvenile: ‘in most cases, juveniles of the younger age
group can testify productively from 15 to 20 minutes, in particular, it concerns the
interrogated children 3–5 years old; 5–7-years old minors – about 20–25 minutes;
7–10-years old – from 25 to 35 minutes’. If the person conducting the interrogation
does not have time to discover the issues of interest during this time, it is advisable to
take a break. However, it is important to realise that after two periods of interrogation,
the productivity of the intellectual activity of minors decreases.8
2. Subjects of interrogation and its participants. Article 25 of the Council of Europe
Convention for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse
of 25.10.2007, ratied by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 20 June 2012, provides that
‘interviews shall be conducted by a person specially trained for this purpose’.9 Thus, in
accordance with the provisions of Part 2 of Art. 484 of the CPC of Ukraine, the guarantee
of the rights of children and minors is a special procedure for criminal proceedings in
this category. Included in this are criminal proceedings instituted against several people
together where at least one of whom is a minor. This is carried out by an investigator
who is specially authorized by the head of the pre-trial investigation body to conduct
pre-trial investigations into minors. At the same time, courts must be shown documents
8 N.V. Pavluik, Vikovo-psihologichni osoblivosty nepovnolitnih ta mozlivosti ih zastosuvannia pid
chas dopitu, Problemy zakonnosty, Vup.68, Kharkiv, Nationalna uridichna academia Ukraini im.
Yaroslava Mudrogo 2004, p. 197 (in ukrainian).
9 Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and
Sexual Abuse of 25 October 2007, Database „Legislation of Ukraine”, Verkhovna Rada of Ukra-
ine, https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/994_927#Text6-200, [access: 23.02.2022] (in ukrai-
nian).
118 Olena Zavorina
conrming the fact of pre-trial investigation of minors by a specially authorized inve-
stigator, as the evidence obtained as a result of pre-trial investigation of a minor by an
unauthorized entity, by virtue of paragraph 2 Part 3 of Art. 87 of the CPC of Ukraine, is
inadmissible. However, neither the CPC of Ukraine nor any other law clearly species
the necessary qualications and requirements for this category of investigators. Simi-
lar requirements are contained in the legislation of Romania, Russia, Norway and other
countries.
Other participants in the interrogation include the legal representatives of the juve-
nile suspect or accused. According to Art. 44 of the CPC of Ukraine this may involve
parents (adoptive parents) and, in their absence, guardians or trustees of the person,
other close adult relatives or family members, as well as representatives of guar-
dianship and trusteeship, institutions and organizations under whose guardianship or
care a minor is placed if incapacitated or partially incapacitated.
3. Videotaping of the interrogation. In particular, Part 5 of Art. 244 of the CPC
of Ukraine stipulates that photography, audio and / or video recording may be used
during interrogation. However, Ukrainian investigators do not always use this oppor-
tunity, for various reasons: they do not have the technical capacity, specially equipped
premises, time, etc., thus often subjecting juvenile victims to re-victimization.
In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, the police use special facilities
to conduct investigations involving minors. Such facilities are located outside the
police stations and are equipped in such a way that the child can quickly adapt to the
new environment. Similar interrogation rooms for children who have been sexually
abused or witnessed such crimes are used in various countries: Germany, Poland, the
United States, Estonia, Bulgaria, and others. In Germany, Estonia and Poland, these
rooms are painted blue, but regardless of the colour, these rooms may still be called
child-friendly rooms. For example, in Tartu, Estonia, such a room was set up in 2000
on the premises of the Police Investigation Service. The room was decorated by child
psychologists and an artist from the Tartu Child Support Center. There is a favourable
atmosphere with equipment, upholstered furniture, toys and books for dierent ages,
and a drawing board, etc. Present are all the things required to interview a child, in
particular, anatomical dolls, drawings, tests and questionnaires. Under Estonian law,
children under the age of 14 are always interviewed in the presence of assistance
service sta for victims of violence or witnesses. In a number of countries, special
rooms for interviewing children are operated by non-governmental organizations.
For example, in Moldova, a room of the non-governmental organization La Strada-
-Moldova is used to interview children whilst in Poland facilities of the Nobody’s
Children Charitable Foundation are used, as well as those of social services and the
Child Protection Center. In general, the standards of arrangement of such rooms aro-
und the world do not impose restrictions on their aliation and location, but only re-
commend their arrangement to institutions that have the right and ability to administer
such facilities. The main requirement for these rooms is the presence of a comfortable
room that provides the child with a sense of security and condentiality and meets
the needs of children to feel physically and psychologically safe during the interview.
119International dimension of a juvenile justice
In particular, the key requirement of the room is to allow the child to be interviewed by
only one specialist (for example a judge or investigator), while all other participants
(the accused’s lawyers, prosecutor, etc.) can observe the interview from other rooms
and communicate with the interviewer through a remote communication system.
Experts also recommend providing for the possibility for a child victim of a crime
to wait for the interview in a safe and child-friendly atmosphere, separate from the
accused or suspect. Such a room should have proper soundproong, meet the needs of
children of all ages, with an interior in pastel colours. Among the main requirements
for the equipment of such rooms / premises are methodical materials and psychodiag-
nostic tools for obtaining the necessary information from the child. The ‘Green Room’
helps children to feel a cosy, friendly atmosphere, promotes open, trusting commu-
nication and dialogue with adults. Experience shows that children in such rooms are
better at communicating.
This practice is gradually being implemented in Ukraine using the ‘Green Room’
method.10 ‘Green rooms’ are a new phenomenon for Ukraine, the term rst appea-
ring in ocial documents only in 2008. In 2008 the Criminal Police Department for
Children issued Guidelines for the organization and operation of the ‘green room’
for children in need of social and psychological protection. According to these Gu-
idelines, preventive work with children aged 5 to 18 in the following categories
should be carried out in ‘green rooms’: neglected and homeless; living in disadvan-
taged families; persistently run away from families and educational institutions;
engaged in vagrancy and begging; have been victims of violence or have committed
domestic violence themselves; are registered with the police; have committed ad-
ministrative oences; have committed socially dangerous acts before reaching the
age of criminal responsibility; have been released from punishment with the use
of coercive measures of an educational nature; have committed a crime; have been
released from prison; have been returned from special institutions of social rehabi-
litation; are prone to alcohol, drugs and psychotropic drugs. Unfortunately, this list
of categories of children does not include children who are victims and witnesses of
crimes, especially sexual violence and exploitation. Guidelines for the arrangement
of such rooms were also far from international standards and were limited to the
requirements for the colour of walls, wallpaper, oors, carpets, furniture (should be
green), the appropriate temperature and fresh air, sound insulation, proper lighting,
indoor owers, toys and books, appropriate sound design and the presence of soft
chairs. They also recommended the need to organize two rooms, separated by glass
for visual surveillance and installation of video equipment. These methodical re-
commendations were not approved at the level of an order or instruction from the
Ministry of Internal Aairs of Ukraine.
10 Metodichni rekomendacii shodo opituvannia ditei, sho staly svidkamy ta/abo gertvamy nasilstva,
a takog vchinily nasilstvo: Metod.posib./ Avtory-uporyad.: D. Puras, O. Kalashnik, O. Koche-
mirovska, T. Cjuman, za zag. red. T. Cjuman, Kyiv 2015, p. 114, http://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/
eprint/10717/1/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%96%D0%B1%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B
A-%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%83%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BD
%D1%8F-%D0%A0%D0%84.pdf, [access: 23.02.2022] (in Ukrainian).
120 Olena Zavorina
The basic principles of juvenile criminal law in Germany are the educational idea
that the main purpose of criminal law measures applicable to minors should be spe-
cial individual prevention. The Juvenile Court Act (Jugendgerichtsgesetz (hereinafter
– JGG)) provides that the application of juvenile criminal law must prevent, above all,
new crimes against young people.11 One of the components of German juvenile law is
juvenile justice. This combines prescriptions of both substantive and procedural natu-
re, takes into account the age characteristics of the minor and the special principles of
juvenile law. The main provisions of juvenile justice are dened in the Juvenile Court
Act of 1953, which, with changes and additions, are still in force today. At the same
time, the JGG is not the only source of juvenile criminal proceedings. Minors are also
subject to the general provisions of German law, but only those that do not contradict
or are not regulated by the JGG.
Experience with the instruction on interrogation by ocers in the USA shows the
considerable similarity of the majority of organizational and tactical approaches to
interrogation. However, there are also many techniques and approaches that dier
signicantly, for example, in the United States, parents are not allowed to be present
during the interrogation of their minor child.12
Studying the experience of interrogation of juvenile participants in criminal
proceedings in countries where the priority is to protect the rights and legitimate
interests of juveniles, namely: Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, we no-
ted a signicant dierence in the tactics of interrogation. While, in Ukraine, the
investigator must interrogate a minor suspect in the presence of the above-men-
tioned persons in the same room, in Norway others are not present in the room
where the child is being interviewed, they (parents, legal representatives, lawyer,
etc.) observe the interview through viewing glass and do not have the opportunity
to inuence the testimony in any way. Usually, minors should be questioned by
a person of the same sex. However, it is noted that children are more willing to
communicate with women. If rapport with the juvenile cannot be established, the
police ocer must leave the interrogation room and allow the child to be distrac-
ted. It is important to discover whether the juvenile wishes to be questioned by
another person.
Recently, Ukraine has been actively discussing the introduction of interrogation
methods into the activities of pre-trial investigation bodies’ procedural interviews.
These techniques are actively used in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and
the European Union. The SUE (Strategic Use of Evidence) or model of strategic
use of evidence was developed by Swedish scientists during a research programme.
11 Bundesrecht konsolidiert: Gesamte Rechtsvorschrift für Jugendgerichtsgesetz 1988, Fassung
vom 29.11.2020, https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Ge
setzesnummer=10002825, [access: 23.02.2022] (in German).
12 Police Questioning of Juveniles (Minors) in California Criminal Cases, https://www.shouselaw.
com/ca/juvenile/interrogation-of-minors/, [data accessu: 23.02.2022] Nele M. Hingmann «Ex-
amining an adaptation of the Strategic Use of Evidence approach when interviewing suspects»
2019. http://essay.utwente.nl/78972/1/Hingmann_BA_BMS.pdf, [access: 23.02.2022] (in Eng-
lish).
121International dimension of a juvenile justice
The purpose of this model is to improve the investigator’s ability to infer the ac-
curacy of information by identifying signs of truth or falsity in the suspect’s
testimony.13
The model of strategic use of evidence consists of strategic and tactical levels. The
strategic level is based on four basic principles that apply to each case:
– the suspect’s idea of the available evidence;
– strategies to counter the suspect;
– verbal responses of the suspect;
– change of perspective (attempt by the investigator to put themself in the situ-
ation of the suspect).
The tactical level is a set of dierent tactics for questioning and disclosing evi-
dence during a procedural interview. The use of one or another tactic by investigators
depends on whether the suspect is lying or telling the truth.
The eectiveness of the model of strategic use of evidence is evidenced by the
results of a study, according to which a group of law enforcement ocers who recei-
ved special training were able to distinguish truths from lies in 85.4% of cases, while
in groups of ocers who did not receive appropriate training, this accuracy was only
56.1%.
Conclusions
On the basis of the conducted research certain standards of interrogation of mi-
nors are dened. The organization of work should be carried out on the basis of an
individual approach to each child, taking into account their age and psychological
characteristics. It is important to understand the psychological characteristics of com-
munication with minors, depending on the situation of interaction and taking into
account age. The basis of eective interaction with a child is compliance with specic
rules related to the presence of:
1. a safe adult with knowledge of the psychological, physiological and age cha-
racteristics of the child’s development, the peculiarities of communication with
the child, taking into account age, communication skills and skills necessary for
eective communication with the child;
2. a safe environment or so-called ‘green room’, which is an organized system of
measures aimed at ensuring the legality, humanity and eectiveness of any deci-
sion regarding a child who is in conict with the law or is in contact with the law.
To avoid traumatic situations, most countries use the practice of friendly interro-
gation, where only one specialist speaks to the child (a specially trained police ocer
13 Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) Leading Into The CVSA Interview . https://www.cvsa1.com/
interviewing-and-interrogation/strategic-use-of-evidence-sue-leading-into-the-cvsa-interview/,
[access: 23.02.2022].
122 Olena Zavorina
/ prosecutor / psychologist / forensic examiner / judge, etc.), and other specialists are
in another room watching the interrogation. They have the opportunity to pass one or
two questions through special headphones to the specialist who interviews the child,
as well as to discuss the necessary questions during breaks.
Thus, our analysis of international law on the standards of interrogation of a juve-
nile who is suspected of having committed a criminal oence, allows us to conclu-
de that the interrogation procedures in Ukraine, as in most countries of the world,
meets international standards. Unfortunately however, in Ukraine, these international
standards are not fully applied, which indicates the need to improve the legal regu-
lation of these investigations, expand the scientic, technical and tactical arsenal of
the investigation and increase the professional skills of investigators and operative
workers.
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123International dimension of a juvenile justice
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Summary
It is common in Ukraine to use the term “interrogation”, as this term is used in the Criminal
Procedure Code of Ukraine. At the same time, in accordance with international standards, the
term “interrogation” is used when meaning interrogation as a procedural action, as well as any
other options for interviewing a child by authorized persons. However, in reality, it is not the
term that plays a decisive role, but the approach to it. The organization of either the interroga-
tion or the interview should take into account the age and psychological characteristics of the
child of the appropriate age, and the process itself – regardless of the term used – should be
child-friendly.