ISLAMABAD: To strengthen children’s access to justice, an Interactive Resource Centre (IRC) and Model Child Court have been inaugurated at the Federal Judicial Academy (FJA) in Islamabad.
The facility will provide a permanent, practical learning environment for judicial professionals, demonstrating how justice systems can better respond to children’s needs, rights and best interests, UNICEF said in a press release.
Jointly organised by the FJA, UNICEF and Group Development Pakistan (GDP), the initiative builds on earlier efforts to introduce child-friendly court practices in Pakistan and advances the objectives of UNICEF’s Reimagine Justice for Children (RJ4C) programme.
Through practical learning and demonstrations, the Model Child Court will showcase how child-sensitive spaces, procedures and professional practices can help children participate meaningfully in judicial proceedings while ensuring that their rights and needs are respected.
`Every child is entitled to justice that recognises them first and foremost as a child. When children come into contact with the law, they must be protected in line with their best interests, and their voices must be heard,` said Pernille Ironside, UNICEF representative in Pakistan. `Meeting these needs calls for more than good intentions: it calls for child-centred professional expertise.
The facility comprises seven interconnected spaces, including age-appropriate waiting areas, a child-friendly courtroom, a media room equipped for videolink testimony, a Juvenile Justice Committee and Alternative Dispute Resolution room, judges’ chambers, and an Interactive Resource Centre. The spaces are designed to provide a safer, non-intimidating environment that supports children’s dignity and privacy during judicial proceedings.
Beyond its physical design, the facility will serve as a practical training resource for judges and other justice system actors across Pakistan.
Through case-based learning and simulations, judicial professionals will develop skills in conducting child-friendly hearings, applying diversion principles, facilitating children’s participation in family proceedings and managing testimony through video links.
The facility is also intended to support the development of judicial trainers and provide a reference model for provincial judicial academies and courts across Pakistan.
Justice for children is both a constitutional and moral obligation. Every interaction a child has with the justice system must uphold their dignity, protect them from harm, and recognise their best interests and evolving needs. The Interactive Resource Centre and Model Child Court represent important steps towards translating child-centred principles into judicial practice. By strengthening the capacity of judicial professionals through sustained, structured training, we can help build a justice system that is sensitive to children’s needs and earns their trust,
said Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, adviser to the Board of Governors of the Federal Judicial Academy.
`The Federal Judicial Academy, in collaboration with UNICEF and Group Development Pakistan, is advancing child-friendly justice. The Interactive Resource Centre and Model Child Court will strengthen practical judicial training. These facilities will promote a child-sensitive, inclusive and effective justice system. Our goal is to ensure justice that protects every child’s dignity, rights and best interests,` said Jehanzeb Shinwari, director-general of the Federal Judicial Academy.
The initiative supports Pakistan’s efforts to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the principles of the best interests of the child, the right to be heard and participate in decisions affecting them, protection from violence and harmful justice practices, and the application of safeguards in all judicial proceedings involving children.
Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2026.
