Sustainable society implies investing in children and reaching effective implementation of the rights of the child. It requires professionals that have a practical knowledge to apply legal norms into concrete practices. However, recent studies show a lack of knowledge among lawyers regarding effective implementation of children’s rights. Research in Sweden and Serbia show that is very challenging for lawyers to follow the basic principles of the rights of the child.
The purpose of this research is to construct a framework of lawyer’s practical knowledge in children’s rights and investigate the scope of existing practical knowledge of lawyers in this field in both Serbia and Sweden. Research questions: What kind of normative and practical knowledge do lawyers need in interpretation, application and concretization of legal norms and children’s rights principles? What gaps in the lawyer’s practical knowledge pertaining to children’s rights are recognized by different professionals in Sweden and Serbia? What kind of support system is needed for the development of lawyer’s practical knowledge. This project includes: 1. Theoretical part focused on conceptualization lawyer’s practical knowledge for child rights implementation and 2. Empirical part focused on exploration of existing knowledge, gaps and challenges in lawyers’ practical knowledge in Serbian and Swedish context and mapping out similarities and differences that emerge within different systems and legal frameworks.