Centros de Conhecimento
NOVA Centre for Child Law and Children's Rights
“You know, a person is not from a country. A person is from a childhood.”
in Interdito a Cães e Italianos
The NOVA Centre for Child Law and Children’s Rights is an integral part of CEDIS – NOVA School of Law. Its main aim is to develop activities on Child Law and Children’s Rights, focused on public interest and adopting an interdisciplinary approach. Its activities encompass scientific research, education, training, citizenship, consultancy, drafting of studies and opinions, editorial activities and production of digital content, as well as initiatives aimed at promoting and safeguarding children’s rights.
The centre places particular emphasis on the study of Child Law at national, European, and international levels.
Image credits: ©Council of Europe, 2007. Created by Eric Puybaret
Coordination
João Zenha Martins
Director
Odete Severino Soares
Subdirector
NOVA School of Law Professors
Claire Bright
Cristina Nogueira da Silva
Graça Canto Moniz
Joana Farrajota
Jorge Morais Carvalho
Maria Miguel Oliveira da Silva
Marta Costa
Miguel de Azevedo Moura
Raquel Barradas de Freitas
Teresa Pizarro Beleza
International Guest Professors
Helen Saltford
Head of the Law Department at Liverpool Law School
Philip C. Jaffé
University of Geneva and Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
Researchers
Catarina Nicolau Campos
David Marques dos Santos Cardoso da Silva
Miguel Simões Correia
Scientific Council and Strategic Steering Committee
The NOVA Centre for Child Law and Children’s Rights is embodied by a Scientific Council and a Strategic Committee (CC & COE), with the participation of recognised merit personalities in this area, both national and international, who can guide and accompany the Centre’s interventions, especially with regard to:
- research work and comparative law studies in relation to Children’s Law(s)
- the construction of research and training programme references
- the implementation of action research projects and
- the promotion of student and teacher exchange programmes with similar national, European and international higher education institutions.
Scientific Council Members
- Aiofe Nolan, Professor of International Human Rights Law & Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, School of Law University of Nottingham e President Council of Europe European Committee of Social Rights
- Laura Lundy, Co-Director of the Centre for Children’s Rights, Professor of Children’s Rights at Queen’s University, Belfast and Professor of Law at University College Cork
- Philip Jaffé, Professor (Emeritus), University of Geneva Member, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Licensed Psychotherapist FSP, Specialist in Legal Psychology FSP
- Jonathan Todres, Professor of Law – Georgia State University College of Law
- Ton Liefaard, Full Professor of Children’s Rights and Head of the Department of Child Law and Health Law. (Leiden University). UNICEF Chair in Children’s Rights at Leiden University
- Eduardo Rezende Melo, Judge and PhD in human rights from the University of São Paulo and editor-in-chief of the journal of the International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates (AIMJF)
- Nicolás Espejo Yaksic, Researcher, Centre for Constitutional Studies of the Supreme Court of Mexico and Professor at Leiden University
- John Tobin, Professor, Melbourne Law School
- Faith Gordon, Professor, Australian National University – College of Law
- Ingun Fornes, – Associate professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Bergen and researcher at The Regional Centre for Research and Education (Norway)
- Maria-Andriani Kostopoulou, Attorney at Law, President of the Group of Experts on Action to Combat Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) of Council of Europe
- Anabela Pedroso, Judge and Deputy to the Office of the Vice-President of the Superior Council of the Judiciary
- Clara Sottomayor, Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice
- Celso Manata, Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice
- Cristina Almeida e Sousa, Judge of the Court of Appeal of Lisbon
- Carlos Farinha, former Deputy National Director of the Judicial Police
- Dulce Rocha, Retired Federal Prosecutor and Chair of the General Assembly of the Child Support Institute
- António José Fialho, Presiding Judge of the District of Setúbal and Contact Point for the International Network of Judges in The Hague
- Gabriela Lopes Feteira, Presiding Judge of the Judicial Court of the District of Lisbon West
- Luísa Verdasca Sobral, Deputy Attorney General, Legal Auditor at the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence
- Maria do Céu Machado, Retired Professor of the Faculty of Medicine (University of Lisbon) and President of the Lisbon Medical Sciences Society
- Maria Perquilhas, Judge of the Court of Appeal of Évora
- Maria João Duarte,Federal Prosecutor and Director of the Office for Family, Children and Domestic Violence at the Attorney General’s Office
- Maria Virgínia Brás Gomes, former chair of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Marta Moniz Faria Lobo San-Bento, Director, Directorate-General for Justice Policy
- Miguel Ângelo Carmo, Coordinating Public Prosecutor (Évora District)
- Paulo Guerra, Judge of the Court of Appeal of Coimbra
- Pedro Raposo de Figueiredo, Judge and Deputy Director of the Centre for Judicial Studies
- Paulo Saragoça da Matta, Lawyer
- Rui Alves Pereira, Lawyer
- Rui do Carmo, Retired public prosecutor and former coordinator of the Retrospective Analysis Team for Homicide in Domestic Violence
- Tiago de Melo Cartaxo, Professor at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom)
Members of the Strategic Committe
- Beatriz Imperatori, Executive Director, UNICEF Portugal
- Cristina Pucarinho, Ambassador (Dakar)
- David Simas, former CEO of the Obama Foundation
- Gilberto Jerónimo, Portuguese Ambassador (Tokyo)
- Idália Serrão, Executive Administrator – Montepio Foundation
- Inês Poeiras, Executive Director – Caminhos da Infância (Paths of Childhood)
- João Mira Gomes, Ambassador of Portugal (Geneva)
- Madalena Fisher, Ambassador (Berlin)
- Manuel Lobo Antunes,Portuguese Ambassador to the Portuguese Delegation to the OECD (Paris)
- Mónica Ferro, Director of the United Nations Population Fund Office in the United Kingdom
- Mafalda Anjos, Journalist
- Pedro Lourtie, Ambassador, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the European Council
- Rui Vinhas, Portuguese Ambassador to the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations (New York)
Advisory Council of Children and Young People Supporting Research
- Alexandre Miguel Sousa Silva – 4 years old
- Anuarite Raisha Socola Matias – 7 years old
- Bernardo Alexandre Fonseca Paiva Magalhães dos Anjos – 7 years old
- Bernardo Fernandes Garlet – 7 years old
- Bernardo Freire Válega Carvalho – 5 years old
- Caetana de Almeida Espadaneiro – 6 years old
- Diogo Fróis de Oliveira – 15 years old
- Ema Grotter Almeida dos Santos – 8 years old
- Gael de Luca Trindade Cid – 5 years old
- Guilherme Miguel Correia Soares – 9 years old
- Hanniel Miguel Domingos Lopes – 8 years old
- Henrique Lopes Santos – 8 years old
- José Pedro Ribeiro de Campos – 5 years old
- Larissa da Costa Santos Peixoto – 7 years old
- Manuel Brito da Cruz – 7 years old
- Manuel Carneiro Pupo Correia – 8 years old
- Maria do Mar Romero – 11 years old
- Maria Flor Godoy Ferreira – 9 years old
- Maria Francisca Martins Santos – 9 years old
- Mariana da Silva Domingues – 9 years old
- Martim Pereira – 8 years old
- Miguel Godinho Nunes Nobre Costa – 7 years old
- Nicole Todoriko – 8 years old
- Núria Vieira Ferreira – 7 years old
- Pedro Silva Anjos – 15 years old
- Sara Alves da Silva – 5 years old
- Victória Silva Castro – 9 years old
- Victória Sousa Diegas – 9 years old
- Xavier Poeiras Ivo Cruz – 14 years old
- Yasmin Martins – 8 years old
Objectives
- Develop and disseminate knowledge on Child Law;
- Promote, conduct and coordinate scientific and interdisciplinary research on Child Law, particularly at the intersection of Private and Public Law, with a specific focus on Family Law and the defence of children’s rights;
- Implement action-research projects in Child Law, including projects with social impact;
- Foster scientific exchange with national, European, and international institutions, researchers and professionals;
- Provide advanced training for professionals in Child Law and related areas;
- Support the formulation of public policies on Child Law, applying relevant data, legal instruments, and best practices at national, European, and international levels;
- Analyse outputs from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and other relevant human rights bodies, as well as other international and European legal instruments and mechanisms relevant to the study of and scientific research into Child Law.
Activities
- Conduct scientific research;
- Organise advanced training courses;
- Host national and international conferences, seminars and workshops;
- Draft studies and legal opinions, and provide consultancy services;
- Publish scientific works and reports on Child Law;
- Participate in relevant public consultations on legislative and/or policy initiatives;
- Establish partnerships and collaboration frameworks with national, European, and international research institutions to foster scientific and/or pedagogical cooperation;
- Create legal clinics or platforms for the practical application of Child Law, at national, European, and international levels to contribute to policy improvement and child rights protection;
- Raise awareness and provide information on children’s rights among public and private entities.
Key areas of Child Law
- Child protection;
- Promotion of rights and protection of children and young people at risk;
- Criminal justice and protection of child victims of crime;
Juvenile justice; - Child-friendly justice and access to justice (as victims, witnesses, defendants, or subjects of judicial decisions);
International Law; - Children’s Rights, including:
The right of children to engage in participation and receive information in different settings; - Violence against children, particularly sexual abuse and online violence;
- Emerging legal areas, such as climate litigation, artificial intelligence, the digital environment, data protection, and the right to play;
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other human rights instruments, including comparative legal analysis, implementation monitoring and policy and legislative recommendations.
Partnerships
Considering the objectives of NOVA Centre for Child Law and Children’s Rights’ research and study area, partnership agreements will be signed with public and private organisations and/or individuals relevant to the pursuit of the Centre’s objectives, in order to ensure an integrated multidisciplinary and global approach.
Budget
In order to ensure NOVA Centre for Child Law and Children’s Rights’ financial viability, it is foreseen to entail:
- Permanent cooperation partnerships with public and private organisations and/or individuals relevant to the pursuit of the Centre’s objectives;
- Cooperation protocols with national and international public organisations (e.g. PALOP, East Timor and Ibero-America);
- External funding programmes through applications submitted to the FCT, the European Commission and other national and international organisations;
- Consultancies and studies in the area of children’s rights with national and international public and private organisations (e.g. Council of Europe, European Commission, UNICEF);
- Cooperation agreements with European and international organisations;
- Advanced training in the area of children’s law.
