1. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk 1 Legal advice research Judith Dennis Lives in the balance 2011 Right to Justice 2014 Good and not so good practice

2. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk Lives in the Balance 2011 o To analyse the quality of legal advice and representation to separated children in the asylum system. o Looked through the lens of one key actor – specialist Children’s Advisers (RC). o 10 young people some of whom were still in the process. 2

3. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk Right to Justice 2014 o To assess the availability and quality of legal advice to unaccompanied migrant children in 7 EU countries. o Desk research. o Interviews with experts e.g. legal reps, ngos, Home Office. o A few young people who had experienced the system- mainly quotes. 3

4. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk Where the UK is doing well o Funding asylum claims, interpreters, asylum appeals, expert reports. o Legal advice for age challenges in the courts. o ILPA training and resources. o Refugee Council Panel of Advisers. 4

5. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk Where the UK is not doing well o Lack of information for children, particularly in their own language, on the procedure and identifying good quality legal advice. o Almost no requirement to be specialist (DBS check) and no monitoring of quality. o No statutory guardian anywhere in the UK. o Limits on legal aid for children not seeking asylum. 5

6. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk Examples of good practice from other countries o Child friendly explanations – visual tools (Belgium, Italy) o Specialist lawyers with on-going training on relevant issues (Spain, Belgium) o Guardians – although some very restrictive and lacking in sufficient resource 6

7. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk “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”. 7

8. www.refugeecouncil.org.uk Research reports o Lives in the Balance http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/assets/00 03/1125/Lives_in_the_balance.pdf o Right to Justice http://www.ecre.org/component/content/art icle/63-projects/325-right-to-justice.html 8