Belgium tops list of world's best juvenile justice systems

Children in Belgium have more access to the justice system than anywhere else in the world, according to the results of a survey by the Child Rights International Network (CRIN). The first-ever global study on children's access to justice ranks countries according to how effectively minors can use the law to challenge violations to their rights.

Belgium is number one in the list, according to the CRIN study, followed by Portugal, Spain, Finland and the Netherlands. “On the one hand, this is very good news for our country," says children's rights commissioner Bruno Vanobbergen in Metrotime. "But then you also have to realise that ensuring those rights is sometimes problematic."

Belgium stands out on two points in particular: the child friendliness of family courts, where children are heard in divorce cases, and the provision of free youth attorneys.