Professor Anthony Charles, Swansea University and Children’s Legal Centre Wales Trustee
Children who come into contact with the justice system in Wales deserve meaningful protection, not just warm words about rights.
Yet too often, children face processes they do not understand, decisions they cannot influence, and systems that fail to recognise their vulnerability. Wales has made strong commitments to children’s rights, but without robust legal representation, those commitments risk remaining symbolic. If Wales is serious about justice, it must confront an uncomfortable reality: children are routinely exposed to legal processes that disadvantage them, and lawyers are one of the few safeguards capable of preventing this.
Children’s Rights Are Only Real When They Are Enforced
Wales is unique in embedding the UNCRC into domestic governance through the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure 2011. But despite this progressive framework, children’s rights are frequently underenforced, inconsistently applied, or ignored in practice. Rights do not protect children by virtue of existing on paper; they require active defence, challenge, and accountability.
Without legal representation, children’s rights risk becoming performative rather than protective. A lawyer is often the only professional in the room whose role is to insist that procedures are followed, that decisions are justified, and that children are treated fairly (Cf PACE, 1984). In a system that frequently prioritises efficiency, compliance, or risk management over rights, legal representation is essential to turning Wales’s rights‑based rhetoric into reality.
Children Are Not ‘Mini Adults’
Research across Wales and internationally shows that children experience the justice system differently from adults but the system still routinely treats them as if they possess adult understanding and agency (Bevan, 2024). Children are more likely to misunderstand legal processes, comply with authority even when it harms them, and make decisions based on fear or confusion rather than informed judgment (Senedd Research, 2023). Many simply agree to whatever is asked of them to “get it over with,” without grasping the consequences (Nuffield Foundation, 2022).
This problem is most acute in police custody. Although PACE requires an Appropriate Adult, this safeguard is not designed to protect legal rights and is inconsistently delivered. Children are still questioned in intimidating environments, still pressured to make admissions, and still left without meaningful advocacy. The absence of a lawyer at this stage is not a minor procedural gap, it is a systemic failure that exposes children to avoidable harm.
Marginalised Children Face Greater Risks
Children who enter the youth justice system are disproportionately those already experiencing poverty, care experience, neurodiversity, trauma, racial discrimination, or social exclusion (Trowler, 2026). These children are more likely to be stopped, questioned, or arrested; more likely to be perceived as older or more culpable; and more likely to have communication difficulties that make legal processes impenetrable. Many lack parental support or advocacy (Youth Justice Board, 2026).
Despite Wales’s commitment to equality, these structural disadvantages are not adequately mitigated. Children who most need legal protection are often the least likely to receive it. Lawyers provide a critical counterbalance to these inequalities, but access to legal representation remains inconsistent, under‑resourced, and vulnerable to legal aid pressures. Without lawyers, marginalised children are left to navigate a system that routinely misinterprets, misjudges, or misunderstands them (Cunneen, Goldson & Russell, 2018).
Procedural Justice Matters
Procedural justice research shows that when children feel listened to, respected, and treated fairly, they are more likely to engage positively and comply with decisions. Yet children in Wales frequently report feeling unheard, confused, or dismissed. The Youth Justice Board (2024) emphasises the importance of listening to children, but listening is not the same as acting on their views, and too often children’s perspectives are sidelined in favour of professional convenience or risk‑based decision‑making.
Lawyers play a crucial role in procedural justice by ensuring that children’s voices are not only heard but taken seriously through challenging unfair treatment, demanding transparency, and insisting on justification. Although children are valuable citizens with inalienable rights, they sometimes are bereft of the power to challenge authority and without legal representation, procedural justice can become an aspiration rather than a lived reality (Hollingsworth, 2013).
The System Is Complex
Youth justice in Wales involves a complex mix of devolved and non‑devolved responsibilities (Ministry of Justice & Welsh Government, 2019). Children’s rights, social policy, and safeguarding are devolved, but policing and criminal law are not. Youth offending services operate locally, diversion schemes vary by area, and multi‑agency safeguarding responsibilities add further layers of complexity (Cf. Crime and Disorder Act, 1998).
This complexity is difficult even for adults to navigate. For children, it is functionally inaccessible. Wales has not designed its justice processes with children in mind, and children are routinely expected to understand systems that are not built for them. Lawyers are essential to navigating this complexity, yet access to legal representation remains uneven and dependent on local practice, resources, and legal aid availability.
Legal Representation Supports Better Outcomes
Children with effective legal representation are more likely to receive appropriate support and achieve better outcomes. Lawyers help ensure that welfare needs are recognised, unlawful decisions are challenged, and children are treated more fairly (Hollingsworth, 2013). However, Wales does not guarantee universal access to high‑quality legal representation for children, and legal aid pressures continue to undermine provision.
In a system committed to prevention, early intervention, and rights‑based practice, lawyers are not optional – they are central to justice. Wales cannot claim to uphold children’s rights while failing to ensure that every child has access to legal representation.
Conclusion
Children in Wales need lawyers because the justice system is not designed for them, does not adequately protect them, and too often treats them as adults. Rights must be enforced, fairness must be upheld, and marginalisation must be challenged – and lawyers are essential to all three. Wales has made strong commitments to children’s rights, but without universal access to legal representation, those commitments remain incomplete. If Wales is serious about protecting children, ensuring access to high‑quality legal representation is not just good practice: it is a moral and legal imperative.
Image generated using Microsoft CoPilot