Minister of Justice and Public Administration Ivan Malenica participated in the Informal Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs of the European Union, held in Lille, France on 3 and 4 February 2022. A meeting of the ministers of justice was held on Friday, 4 February.
At the informal meeting, the ministers of justice presented their views on the mutual recognition of parenthood established within the European Union, hate speech on the Internet and the protection of child victims as well as the introduction of mechanisms to warn the public about child abductions.
During the exchange of views on further activities aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of the fight against hate speech on the Internet in the European Union, the ministers highlighted the establishment of uniform regulatory frameworks as a crucial element for ensuring punishability of such conduct within the given framework in all EU member states. The discussion was concluded by a meeting with the representatives of the main Internet operators (Google, Facebook and Twitter), during which the relationship between these entities and judicial bodies, the current difficulties and possible improvements in the prevention and sanctioning of offences were discussed. Furthermore, the French public prosecutor shared her experience in this area with other ministers.
When exchanging views on the legislative initiative relating to the mutual recognition of parenthood and the establishment of maternity and paternity, the ministers pointed out that the adoption of family regulations is an area of exclusive competence of member states, and the specificity of national legislation should be borne in mind when considering such legislation. On the other hand, the ministers also agreed that increased mobility within the EU imposes certain problems regarding family status, and any regulation of outstanding issues would have a positive effect on reducing costs, time and administrative burdens for both families and national justice systems with respect to court proceedings for recognition of parenthood or administrative procedures in registry offices. It was concluded that the basic criterion in any case should be the interest of the child as the mainstay in deciding on the recognition of parenthood, which should be borne in mind when proposing certain solutions.
The ministers also referred to the need to protect child victims and to encourage cross-border cooperation through the establishment of mechanisms for warning the public about child abductions. Namely, 600,000 people go missing in Europe every year, half of which are children. Consequently, inspired by the US 'Amber Alert' system, several EU Member States have set up systems to obtain information from the public within a few hours of a child's abduction, to facilitate the child's location and speedy release. Given that such mechanisms have proved effective and a useful complement to conventional research methods, the ministers were urged to initiate the establishment of such a mechanism at the national level, which would make the search for missing children more efficient, and would strengthen both national and cross-border intersectoral cooperation.
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