Since April 2009, a group of experts in the field of juvenile justice and children’s rights has been working on the preparation of these European guidelines. The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) and at European level, the European JuvenileJustice Observatory (EJJO), are among the several organizations that make up this Group of Specialists on child-friendly justice. The objective of the Group of Specialists is to produce comprehensive guidelines on child-friendly justice, which will assist member states in ensuring that children have favourable access to justice.

The guidelines should contribute to improving the treatment of the child in all circumstances where he or she is, for whatever reason, likely to be brought into contact with civil, administrative or criminal justice. To this end, the guidelines should build on the existing national, European and international standards and make substantial references to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.

In the past month of January, as part of the European network 'Ex-Offenders Community of Practice (ExOCoP)', in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Labour and the Italian Institute for the Development of Vocational Training for Workers (ISFOL), the IJJO and nine European entities, including the European Prison Education Association (EPEA) and the European Juvenile Justice Observatory (EJJO), participated in a work session focusing on the integration and social inclusion of young offenders.

The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) has the honour of highlighting the publication 'European Rules for Juvenile Offenders Subject to Sanctions or Measures', produced by the Council of Europe subsequent to Recommendation Rec(2008) 11 adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.