Children's Hearing

A Children’s Hearing is part of the legal and welfare systems in Scotland; it aims to combine justice and welfare for children and young people.

The children’s hearing is a lay tribunal made up of three members of the Children’s Panel, which comprises trained voluntary members of the public. There is a separate panel for each local authority area.

Procedure
Children referred to hearings are first referred to a professional Reporter. The referral may be made on offence grounds and/or care and protection grounds. The Reporter, who works for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, investigates the case and will will decide whether or not compulsory measures of supervision may be required. If, in the Reporter's opinion, such measures are required, a Hearing will be arranged. The Reporter may take other steps short of arranging a Hearing, for example arrange for some form of restorative justice. On average, of every five children referred to the Reporter, one is referred to a hearing.

Any child generally under the age of 16, and in some cases under 18, who offends is referred to a hearing unless the area Procurator Fiscal decides that prosecution in either the Sheriff Court or High Court of Justiciary is required.

For the hearing itself, the children's hearing has the power to appoint a legal representative where the members of the children’s panel consider it likely that there may a recommendation of secure accommodation or where legal representation is needed to allow the child to participate effectively at the hearing. Children’s Legal Representatives are members of special panels maintained by local authorities, with all costs met by the Scottish Executive. The hearing may also appoint an independent person known as a Safeguarder whose purpose is to prepare a report to assist the hearing in reaching a decision; the Safeguarder must act in the best interests of the child, which indeed is the basis of all decisions made by children’s hearings.

Supervision Requirements
Hearings have power to make a wide range of conditions on a disposal – called a Supervision Requirement. These may range from attendance on a particular programme, conditions regulating contact with parents or other significant adults/family members, contact with a social worker, placement in foster care, residential accommodation or secure accommodation.

History
The children’s hearings system was initiated by the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, now incorporated in the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

It followed a report in April 1964 of a committee set up by the Secretary of State for Scotland under the chairmanship of Lord Kilbrandon, a Senator of the College of Justice, to examine how young offenders were dealt with.

The juvenile courts were regarded as unsuitable because they had to combine the characteristics of a criminal court with those of a treatment agency. Separation of functions was recommended. The establishment of the facts (where disputed) was to remain with the courts but decisions on treatment were to be the responsibility of a new and unique kind of tribunal, which would be neither a court of law nor a local authority committee. On April 15, 1971, hearings took over from the courts most of the responsibility for children under 16.