The International Congress on “Children and the law” aims to share knowledge and experience about the children's contact with the justice system as victims, witnesses or offenders. The number of children who are heard in court has increased greatly in recent years, especially in cases of sexual abuse, as well as in cases of divorce, for the determination of parental responsibilities. This Congress is intended to bring together the knowledge of both national and international experts on the legal, ethical and practical issues, which encompass children's contact with the justice system. This International Congress is organized within the framework of the research project entitled “Children and the law: The analysis of children's comprehension about legal terminology and court proceedings” (PTDC/MHC-PAP/3646/2012) funded by FCT and European funds, through the COMPETE programme. The official languages of the congress will be English (first language), Portuguese and Spanish.
Keynote Speakers (All confirmed)
June 11, 2015
Ankie Vanderkerckhove
Children's rights expert
"HAVING RIGHTS IS NOT ENOUGH...IS IT?"
June 12, 2015
Howard Davidson
Director of the Center on Children and the Law at ABA
"THE PROFESSION OF CHILD LAW: A PERSPECTIVE FROM 40 YEARS IN THE FIELD AND IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE"
June 13, 2015
Maggie Bruck
Professor at Science at Johns Hopkins University
"SCIENCE OF CHILD WITNESS' IN THE COURT ROOM"
Symposia
June 11, 2015
Children´s Comprehension of Legal Terminology and Court Proceedings
Chair: Ana Sacau
(University Fernando Pessoa - Portugal)
June 11, 2015
Evidence Collection and Physical Examination
in Acute Sexual Assault Cases of Children and Adolescents
Chair: Teresa Magalhães
(University of Porto - Portugal)
June 11, 2015
Restorative justice and juvenile justice system: a comparative perspective between Spain, Portugal and UK
Chair: David Turner
(University of Gloucestershire - UK)
June 12, 2015
Ways of Enhancing Children's Testimony
Chair: Ray Bull
(Leicester University - UK)
June 12, 2015
Recall and Reporting in Children with Developmental Disorders: Implications for Eyewitness Testimony and Forensic Interviewing
Chairs: Margaret-Ellen Pipe
(The City University of New York - USA)
and Michael Lamb
(University of Cambridge - UK)
June 13, 2015
NICHD Forensic Interview Protocol: An international Vision
Chairs: Michael Lamb
(University of Cambridge - UK)
and Carlos Peixoto
(National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences - Portugal)
