Across Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, and neighboring countries, there are persistent gaps between international standards and practice in child justice, including delays in appointing lawyers, uneven access to free legal aid, and limits on confidential attorney‑client communication for detained children.

Experts emphasize that substantive reform hinges on ongoing investment in specialized training, child‑centered communication, effective legal aid, individualized support, and expanded community‑based measures to secure fair trial rights and meaningful participation for all children in contact with the criminal justice system.

The right to information is often inadequately realized, with authorities delivering information in formal, adult language, lacking child‑friendly explanations, insufficient interpretation/translation, limited accommodations for disabilities, and, in some cases, informing suspects only after formal charging.

The ACCESS Project (2024–2026) provides comparative data and a compendium of good practices, highlighting gaps and progress and offering actionable guidance to strengthen child‑friendly justice systems across Europe.

An analysis of six EU Member States identifies gaps and promising practices in safeguarding children’s rights in conflict with the law, focusing on the right to a lawyer, the right to information, and safeguards related to deprivation of liberty.

Detention and deprivation of liberty remain overused or mishandled, with violations such as no proper separation from adults, placement in non‑criminal settings without safeguards, and, in some cases, transfer of children to adult criminal frameworks; alternatives like diversion, restorative justice, and community‑based supervision are inconsistently applied due to resource limits.

Notable practices include stronger youth‑specific legal representation from the earliest stages, mandatory representation, enhanced confidentiality protections, child‑friendly information delivery (videos, templates), and the use of family group conferences and probation/mediation services to reduce detention.

The right to a lawyer remains uneven across countries, with some mandating immediate representation from first contact or during investigations, while others delay until formal charges; barriers include cost, limited specialized training, and inadequate confidentiality protections.