Voice of the Child: Unique film project to advance child-friendly justice
At the end of March, the Voice of the Child conference launched three films on children’s hearings in European family law courts to support judicial training in child-friendly justice. Researchers from Leiden University have developed a training manual to accompany courses in the EU.
How can judges be helped to ensure that children can participate effectively in judicial proceedings? This was the central question at The Voice of the Child conference, held in Zeist on 26 and 27 March 2026, where three films premiered alongside the launch of a new training manual developed by Leiden Law School.
The conference brought together judges, court staff, judicial trainers, academics, and specialists in children’s rights and family justice from across Europe. The event focused on how children are heard in judicial proceedings and on the importance of continued training and reflection to advance child-friendly justice.
A European project
The Voice of the Child is a two-year project launched in February 2024 and funded by the European Commission. It was developed by a consortium formed by the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), Golden Monkey Enterprises, the Center for International Legal Cooperation (CILC), the Dutch Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary (SSR), the Belgian Judicial Training Institute (IGO), the National Institute of Justice in Bulgaria (NIJ), the Scuola Superiore della Magistratura (SSM) in Italy, and Leiden University.
The project contributes to the implementation of the European Union Strategy on the Rights of the Child by producing films on child hearings in judicial proceedings. Three films were recorded in courtrooms in Antwerp, Belgium; Varna, Bulgaria; and Trento, Italy, featuring actual family law and child protection cases involving children, parents, and judges. The project also builds on the earlier Dutch film De Stem van het Kind, recorded in The Hague, which laid the foundation for this initiative. Together, the films offer rare insights into how children’s voices are heard in practice and into the challenges of child participation in judicial decision-making.
New training manual for judges and judicial professionals
One important outcome of the project was the presentation of a new training manual developed at Leiden Law School under the leadership of Professor Ton Liefaard, Professor of Children’s Rights and Head of the Department of Child Law and Health Law. He was supported by Ana Luisa Campos and Laura Marchetti, both graduates of the Master of Laws Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights and researchers at Leiden University, who contributed to the research, drafting, and coordination of the manual.
The training manual aims to strengthen the judiciary’s capacity to protect children’s right to effective participation and to uphold child-friendly justice principles. It is designed to support judges and other professionals working in or with the judiciary in cases that involve children, with two main objectives: first, to provide guidance for daily judicial practice that can improve children’s access to justice; and second, to offer a practical tool for judicial training institutions to develop curricula on child-friendly justice.
The part of the project was funded by the European Commission, the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security and the King Baudoin Foundation, Belgium.
Using films as a training tool
The manual is distinctive for its specialised instructional approach, using The Voice of the Child films to support learning, discussion, and reflection. Rather than presenting ideal approaches or best practices, the films prompt critical reflection on the challenges and nuances of children’s participation in judicial proceedings. They show a variety of real-life judicial interactions and invite participants to consider what supports, or hinders, a truly child-friendly judicial process.
The manual builds on this by providing background information, methodological guidance, and training exercises that will help trainers and participants reflect on how children’s opportunities for effective participation in judicial decision-making can be improved in practice.
Two-day training course
The training course is a two-day programme of approximately 15 hours, comprising eight modules and around 12 hours of active training. The first day lays the foundations of child-friendly justice through theoretical modules and the screening of one film. The second day focuses on core issues, such as the best interests of the child, the right to a fair trial, equality of arms, communication and language, and other practical aspects of child-friendly justice.
While most modules can also be offered separately, the screening of the films forms the cornerstone of the training. The manual is designed to help trainers use the films flexibly, either by focusing on one film throughout the training or by combining excerpts from different films to explore specific themes in more depth.
With the launch of the training manual, Leiden Law School contributes to a broader European effort to improve child-friendly justice through judicial education. Together with the films, the manual supports continued learning and reflection on how children’s right to effective participation can be better realised in judicial proceedings.