24.10.2026 23:40
A panel titled “The Child in the Judicial Process: Justice, Protection and Responsibility” was held in collaboration with the Youth Commission of the Lawyers Association and Üsküdar University KÜGEMER. At the panel, children's positions in judicial processes, their criminal responsibility, and the development of a child-centered understanding of justice were discussed.
The panel titled “The Child in the Judicial Process: Justice, Protection and Responsibility,” organized in cooperation with the Youth Commission of the Association of Jurists and Üsküdar University’s Child and Youth Mental Health and Education Center (KÜGEMER), was held at Üsküdar University Main Campus. Bringing together academics, members of the judiciary and representatives of the legal community, the panel examined the problems children face in judicial processes in their legal, psychological and social dimensions.
Atty. Mehmet Özcan, President of the Youth Commission of the Association of Jurists, emphasized in his opening speech that the panel was a continuation of previous work. Noting that the discussions initiated at Boğaziçi University in May under the title “The Child Driven to Crime” had been expanded after the legislative amendment to cover the entire judicial process, Özcan stated that they attached importance to following issues concerning children and continuing work in this field until concrete results are achieved.
Özcan also drew attention to the importance of addressing such a sensitive issue as children’s judicial processes together with practitioners working in the field and academics specialized in the area, by law students who will become the judges, prosecutors, lawyers and academics of the future.
EMPHASIS ON COOPERATION AND SHARED RESPONSIBILITY IN OPENING SPEECHES
The opening speeches of the panel were delivered by Atty. Mehmet Özcan, President of the Youth Commission of the Association of Jurists; Atty. Mehmet Melih Gülseren, Chairman of the Association of Jurists; and Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Founding Rector of Üsküdar University and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
In the speeches, it was highlighted that the problems children face in judicial processes should be evaluated with a multidisciplinary approach, and that steps to protect children’s rights should be strengthened through inter-institutional cooperation.
FIRST SESSION: YOUNG AGE, CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE PHENOMENON OF BEING DRIVEN TO CRIME
In the first session, moderated by Sümeyye Koman Atasoy, Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Jurists;
- Prof. Dr. Mahmut Koca participated with his presentation titled “The Effect of Young Age on Criminal Responsibility,”
- Prof. Dr. Sevil Atasoy with “How Does a Child Become a Criminal? – The Criminal Dimensions of Children Being Driven to Crime,”
- and Dr. Saliha Merve Kaya, Faculty Member, with “Security Measures to Be Applied to Children Without Criminal Responsibility.”
In the session, children’s positions before criminal law and the phenomenon of being driven to crime were evaluated from different aspects. In addition, it was emphasized that in order to understand children’s situation within the judicial system, not only criminal responsibility but also the conditions paving the way for being driven to crime and protection needs should be taken into consideration.
SECOND SESSION: THE CHILD’S TRIAL PROCESS AND NECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS
In the first part of the second session, moderated by Prof. Dr. İsmail Barış, Head of the Department of Social Work at Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of KÜGEMER, a judge and a public prosecutor serving at the Bakırköy Courthouse Children’s Bureau made assessments within the framework of judicial practices.
Another speaker of the session, Halide İncekara, former Member of Parliament for Istanbul in the 22nd, 23rd and 24th terms and former chair of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Research Committees, addressed children’s positions in the trial process and how judicial practices can be improved in line with children’s needs in her presentation titled “How Should the Child in the Judicial Process Be Approached? – Necessary Improvements in the Process.”
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILD-CENTERED JUSTICE
The assessments made throughout the panel showed that children’s situation in judicial processes cannot be addressed within the boundaries of a single discipline. Understanding the factors that lead children to crime, addressing criminal responsibility within the legal framework, applying protective measures without delay, and fully observing children’s rights during the trial process were recorded as indispensable elements of a child-centered understanding of justice.
The panel, organized in cooperation with the Youth Commission of the Association of Jurists and Üsküdar University KÜGEMER, brought together different fields of expertise and laid the groundwork for a comprehensive sharing of knowledge and experience. The event offered law students and young lawyers the opportunity to reflect on children’s rights, judicial processes and professional responsibilities.
The Youth Commission of the Association of Jurists continues to keep awareness of children’s rights and judicial processes alive while supporting the development of young lawyers through its work at law faculties in different cities and the professional events it organizes.
The Association of Jurists will resolutely continue its work to protect children’s rights, strengthen access to justice and make a child-centered approach in judicial processes established practice.