People's
Deputies of Ukraine, representatives of executive power, non-governmental
organizations ("Reform of Juvenile Justice in Ukraine", "Child Protection
Service"), Women´s Consortium of Ukraine, Ukrainian Centre for Common Ground,
the International Women's Rights Center "La Strada -
Ukraine", All-Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations Ukrainian Helsinki
Human Rights Union, and UNICEF representatives in Ukraine attended the
discussion.
The participants discussed key amendments to the Ukrainian legislation regarding children´s rights protection, family involvement in the fulfillment of juvenile justice functions, principles of criminal justice in legislative field, reflection of juvenile justice principles in the laws, and legal regulation of family patronage.
Opening the round table discussion, Elina Shyshkina, Chairman of the Sub-Committee on the Constitutional Status of the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and Central Executive Authorities under the Committee on Judicial Policy, called for strengthening civil and family legislation in the context of children´s rights, especially, protection of property of the minors, counteraction to corruption during the placing into guardianship and wardship, prevention of abuse during adoption, administration of property of children under custody and care, and other issues.
The Committee on Judicial Policy has recently scrutinized several bills on the regulation of children´s rights protection.
The Committee has also adjusted the bill on amendments to several laws of Ukraine regarding legal actions concerning property of the minors and counteraction to corruption during the issue of permits by the guardianship and wardship authorities (Reg. No. 6189).
The central executive bodies took action to implement the Law "On Amendments to the Criminal and Family Codes of Ukraine regarding Adoption" to strengthen protection of rights and interests of the adopted children.
The newly-adopted Law "On Amendments to the Civil Code of Ukraine regarding Guardianship and Wardship Authorities and Specification of Persons placed into Custody and Care" (Reg. No. 2825-VI) regulates legal relations between the guardianship and wardship authorities and individuals in need of custody and care, correct legal deficiencies in the Civil and Family Codes of Ukraine, and the Laws of Ukraine on the Protection of Childhood.
Summing up, Elina Shyshkina stressed that the array of issues to be settled is too wide, while the initiatives of the modern legal system of Ukraine show the lack of systemic vision concerning protection of children´s rights.