Legal advice research Judith Dennis Lives in the balance 2011 Right to Justice 2014 Good and not so good practice

Lives in the Balance 2011 To analyse the quality of legal advice and representation to separated children in the asylum system. Looked through the lens of one key actor – specialist Children’s Advisers (RC) . 10 young people some of whom were still in the process.

Right to Justice 2014 To assess the availability and quality of legal advice to unaccompanied migrant children in 7 EU countries. Desk research. Interviews with experts e.g. legal reps, ngos, Home Office. A few young people who had experienced the system- mainly quotes.

Where the UK is doing well Funding asylum claims, interpreters, asylum appeals, expert reports. Legal advice for age challenges in the courts. ILPA training and resources. Refugee Council Panel of Advisers.

Where the UK is not doing well Lack of information for children , particularly in their own language, on the procedure and identifying good quality legal advice. Almost no requirement to be specialist (DBS check) and no monitoring of quality. No statutory guardian anywhere in the UK. Limits on legal aid for children not seeking asylum.

Examples of good practice from other countries Child friendly explanations – visual tools (Belgium, Italy) Specialist lawyers with on-going training on relevant issues (Spain, Belgium) Guardians – although some very restrictive and lacking in sufficient resource

“We have no one here in Belgium, but the guardian and lawyer, they are like a mother and father”. “I had to keep asking and by the time I got an answer I had only two weeks to decide about the appeal”. “When you go alone, maybe your head is not here and you cannot explain yourself well”.

Research reports Lives in the Balance http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/assets/0003/1125/Lives_in_the_balance.pdf Right to Justice http://www.ecre.org/component/content/article/63-projects/325-right-to-justice.html