site.btaJustice Minister Zaharieva Briefs UNICEF Representative Conde on Progress on Juvenile Justice Project

Justice Minister Zaharieva Briefs UNICEF Representative Conde on Progress on Juvenile Justice Project

Sofia, February 15 (BTA) - Bulgarian Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva Monday familiarized UNICEF Representative in Bulgaria Maria Jesus Conde with the progress on the juvenile justice project, Zaharieva Ministry said in a press release.

"A special interagency working group has been formed at the Ministry of Justice, and it is working in line with European norms and standards regarding juvenile justice. We aspire to be ready with the package of legislative amendments and to lay it before the Council of Ministers in the second half of 2016," Zaharieva said.

She stressed that the idea of the entirely new regulations is to maximize protection of children witnesses to and victims of crime and to make it possible to move the juvenile offenders to a safe environment. Zaharieva noted that the most important thing is to train experts to handle juveniles and that protection and intervention are prioritized in the provisions that are being drafted.

On behalf of UNICEF, Conde expressed readiness for support to the changes through good international practices and assured the Justice Minister that the amendments are long awaited and urgently needed.

"The mandatory introduction of 'blue rooms' for interviewing children in trouble with the law is already formulated in draft amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, which we submitted to public consultation a couple of days ago," Zaharieva said. She added that there are 14 operating children's interview rooms in Bulgaria, and her Ministry is setting up another five. The first one is expected to be opened in Varna (on the Black Sea) in April 2016.