Activities of Emil RADEV related to 2021/2060(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the protection of the rights of the child in civil, administrative and family law proceedings
Amendments (28)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights the fact that the Committee on Petitions receives a large number of petitions concerning the need to hear children in court proceedings, the need for cooperation between Member States in cross-border child-related cases, the controversial role of the German Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt) and otherrole of the youth welfare agencies in the Member States, child custody disputes between parents from different Member States, domestic violence, and the promotion of professional and quality mediation by Member States;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that while the Member States are obliged to establish procedural rules which govern the hearing of a child in different proceedings, these provisions differ and may vary greatly between the Member States;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Insists that courts, administrative bodies and social welfare institutions should always make the best interests of the child a primary consideration when taking any decision concerning the child; stresses that such decisions should be made on an individual basis, taking into consideration the specific circumstances of the child and their family and avoiding conscious or unconscious bias;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recommends the establishment of minimum standardat the Commission provide guidance to Member States on best practices for the hearings of a children in national civil proceedings in accordance with Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights;
Amendment 15 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that the authorities of the Member States must ensure that a child is given the genuineprovided the real and effective opportunity to express theirhis own views freely during proceedings and that due weight is given to the child’s viewshis views will be taken into account in accordance with theirhis age and maturity;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas participation in court and administrative proceedings shouldmust not cause additional trauma or stress for the child;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the Member States are obliged to establish procedural rules which govern hearings of the child, so as to minimise any distress to them; whereas these provisions differ greatly between the Member States however;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the need for justice professionals, including lawyers representing children, to be given specific training on the rights of the child and child- friendly justice in line with the European judicial training strategy for 2021-2024 and under the European Judicial Training Network (EJTN), the Justice Programme, the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme, and the European Training Platform of the European e-Justice Portal;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas children have the right to be duly informed, in language they can understand, at every step of the court and administrative proceedings concerning them;
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Points out the that greater mobility within the EU has led to an increasing number of cross-border child protection issues involving custody removal and notes that cross-border proceedings are more complex from a legal perspective and usually more time-consuming and expensive; considers that in the light of Article 81 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union the Commission must play an active role in ensuring fair and consistent non- discriminatory practices in the treatment of cross-border child custody cases throughout the Union;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines that the exercise of a fundamental right such as freedom of movement and freedom of residence shouldmust not posbe a greater threat to the child’s rights, that children involved in cross-border civil and family law disputes should enjoy the same rights and level of protection in all Member States, regardless of the nationality of their parents, and that children whose parents exercise their right to freedom of movement have the right to maintain a personal relationship and direct contact with their parents on a regular basis, unless it is contrary to the best interests of the child;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas children involved in cross- border civil and family law disputes should enjoy the same rights and level of protection in all Member States, regardless of the nationality of their parents;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas the lack of common EU rules on the recognition of judgments on parenthood, particularly in cases involving same-sex parents, may result in a loss of parental rights, may infringe the right of the child to be raised and maintain a relationship with both parents and any rights deriving from parenthood (such as maintenance or succession), and may also encourage forum shopping in the case of cross-border family disputes; whereas the future legislative proposal in this area will help to reduce the number of administrative and judicial proceedings;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Invites the Member States to consider designateing specialised chambers within family courts or cross-border pre-mediation bodioffices to deal with cross-border child- related cases; stresses that it is pivotal to properly monitor the post-judgment situation as far as contact with the parents is concerned, especially when the parties are different nationalities and/or reside in different countries;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Member States to guarantee regularthat visitation rights for parents unless it is detrimental toor custody rights are in line with the best interests of the child, and to allow parents to use their mother tongue with their children during visits, in accordance with the national laws of the Member States concerned;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. whereas cross-border family mediation has the potential to facilitate agreements between parents, where they are nationals of different countries, that serve to uphold the best interests of the child, reducing the emotional and financial burden and legal complexity inherent in judicial proceedings;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Deplores the absence of an EU or international legal framework to facilitate the recognition and enforcement of mediated agreements; highlights that this is causing uncertainty because the different subjects covered by the agreements usually fall withicalls on the Commission theo substantive scope of different EU and international instruments and are therefore subject to different rules of recognition and enforcementmit a proposal on cross-border mediation;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that in all proceedings concerning the child’s well-being and future life arrangements, the rights of the child should be respected and implemented in full and the best interests of the child should always should be given priority;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to present, without undue delay, a set of common guidelines or similar non- legislative tool, which should include recommendations and best practices for the Member States to follow in order to ensure that the hearing of the child is conducted either by a judge or by another trained expert, using language that the child can understand, and that no pressure is applied, including from the parents; stresses that such hearings should take place in a child-friendly setting and be appropriate for the age and maturity of the child in terms of language and content, while providing for all guarantees that ensure the emotional integrity and the best interests of the child are respected and ensuring that the competent authority gives due consideration for the child’s views and wishes in accordance with their age and maturity;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that such guidelines or similar non-legislative tool must clearly state that a child involved in civil, administrative or family law proceedings should be informed at any stage of the process in language that the child can understand and that the decision given by the authority should be explained to the child in a manner befitting of their age and maturity by a specially trained professional;
Amendment 76 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Member States to provide easily accessible, understandable and child-friendly information on the rights of the child in civil, administrative and family law proceedings;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Call on the Member States to make sufficient resources available to ensure that family law proceedings involving children are handled with the utmost compliance with the standards of child-friendly justice, with appropriate respect for the child’s emotional and physical integrity, and without undue delay;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the Member States to effectively enforce judgments in cross- border family disputes concerning children, especially in cases related to cross-border parental child abductions and decisions related to the recognition of parenthood of same-sex couples, as long as this does not infringe the corresponding national law;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide appropriate training on the new rules for central authorities, judges and other legal professionals involved in cross-border disputes, including on the hearing of the child and the possible use of mediation in such cases; emphasises that such training should provide for a sufficient level of knowledge and expertise on cross-border family proceedings;
Amendment 127 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Underlines the need to explore the use of online tools in mediation, including video conferencing, in the case of long- distance disputes or disputes affected by extraordinary circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic;