Ijeoma Pamela Akubue

Conceptualising the Participatory Rights of Children in Conflict with the Law During Judicial Proceedings: A case study of Nigeria's Child Justice System

This research argues that child justice is a critical component of children’s rights framework, and that its advancement can potentially enhance the experiences and outcomes of children in conflict with the law. These children often encounter a myriad of rights issues within the justice system, including limitations on their ability to freely express their views and participate meaningfully in the legal proceedings that affect their lives. Therefore, this study seeks to offer a framework that enhances the understanding and realisation of children’s participatory rights during judicial proceedings, consistent with a rights-respecting approach to child justice. This framework is then utilised to assess the extent to which Nigeria’s child justice system respects and promotes children’s participatory rights. Additionally, this study seeks to address a significant gap in the existing literature, which often neglects developing nations, thereby contributing to the discourse on the development of more child-friendly justice systems in the Global South.

Supervisors - Dr Elaine Webster and Dr Dominic Aitken

Email - ijeoma.akubue@strath.ac.uk