Parents and children are insufficiently protected in court cases that can have far-reaching consequences for their lives. That’s in a report presented on Thursday by the Council for the Judiciary in The Hague. The Council investigated the actions of family and juvenile judges in far-reaching youth protection measures such as custodial placements, supervision orders and termination of custody. The shortage of juvenile judges and court lawyers, as well as the high workload, play a negative role in this, according to the report.
Last year, a committee held 166 interviews with family and juvenile judges and legal staff, experts and young people and (foster) parents. The committee, which consists of juvenile judges, decided to conduct this investigation in response to the benefits scandal in order to reflect on its own work. The central question: do they offer sufficient legal protection to parents and children? And there is still room for improvement, the committee concludes.
Juvenile judges, the report concludes, should adopt a more active and curious attitude. Parents feel insufficiently heard and not taken seriously in family and juvenile law cases, according to the researchers. They often feel pressured to make certain choices. According to the parents surveyed, judges pay too much attention to what the courts present and do too little to find the truth. This reduces confidence in the judiciary. According to the committee, more should be invested in the trust of parents.
Justice under pressure
Juvenile judges themselves experience conducting fact-finding in their work as complex, because all those involved have their own experiences, which often makes it difficult to determine the actual situation. In addition to the lack of time, they see the lack of continuity as an obstacle in the fulfillment of their tasks. For example, several juvenile judges are often involved in the legal process, each with their own vision.
The conclusions of the Council for the Judiciary are in line with the existing problems within the Dutch justice system. From conversations that NRC held earlier this month with twelve judges from all over the country, the judiciary in general turned out to be under great pressure. The judges, with diverse backgrounds and specializations, were very concerned about the workload, backlogs and quality within their field.
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