Participation rights of children and international criminal law

This contribution examines the implementation of the participation rights of children in international criminal law. Departing from the philosophy of autonomy of the child, that underlies the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the eventual role attributed to children in international criminal law is analysed. The issue is envisaged from two different angles, namely the participation of children in international criminal proceedings and the international criminal responsibility of children. The red line will be the tension between participation and protection of persons uder the age of 18 years.The purpose is to identify a possible contradiction in societal thinking about the child in light of the new child image embedded in the CRC. No judgement is mad on the right or wrong nor on the way the dilemma is to be solved