Another lawyer joins fight for better legal representation for children

Saturday 24 November 2018

Jersey's legal system is out of step with the UK and Guernsey because children are not being properly legally represented in court, a top family lawyer has said.

Advocate Rose Colley, Family Law Partner at Viberts, has expressed concern about the inaccessibility of legal representation for children who are concerned in court proceedings, especially in the wake of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry.

The advocate is now the second to raise the issue, after local Advocate Timothy Hanson who told Express that children need better legal representation.

Advocate Colley pointed out that there is a discrepancy between the changing political landscape when it comes to prioritising children’s rights and the way in which the island’s legal system works. 

“With the current changes to the island’s priorities, is it not time that all vulnerable children are given a voice and, more importantly, that they are listened to?” she questioned.

Pictured: In the wake of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, Advocate Rose Colley says that children should not be left behind in the legal system.

“Despite all the noise around the Inquiry Report, the ‘Jersey way’ and a seeming commitment that things will change, will this actually become a reality in respect of the children who are most vulnerable in our community? …Under Jersey law, a child in care proceedings may be represented in these proceedings before the Court. In most cases, a guardian is appointed to represent the child, in their capacity as a social worker.” 

The Advocate says that, more often than not, children in Jersey care proceedings do not have access to lawyers through their social workers. Whereas, any adults involved – such as the parents – “have an automatic right to a lawyer."

There was a case in 2010 when a child was appointed legal representation to assist with matters of law, but Advocate Colley said that it is the lack of automatic legal representation, which gives rise to questions surrounding how children are treated during proceedings of this kind.

Pictured: The leading family lawyer is calling for the automatic appointment of legal representation for children, a right which is afforded to adults in the same situation.

“This is the direct opposite to what happens in both the UK and Guernsey. We need to ask ourselves, ‘why is Jersey different once again?’”

The family law specialist emphasised that her argument seeks to acknowledge the difference between the role of a social worker and that of a lawyer: “Irrespective of a social worker’s level of experience and skills, they differ to lawyers, in respect of their perspectives, qualifications and experience.

“Regardless of their age, a child has the right to feel valued and involved in the decisions that will impact their everyday lived. Their guardian should work in tandem with an appointed lawyer to be able to give the child a voice to influence the decisions that will ultimately determine the foundations that are laid for the child’s future.”

It's not the first time Advocate Colley has challenged the island's legal principles. She has previously made a case for legal reform in Jersey when she called for heterosexual civil partnerships.