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Procedures regarding Minors

Minors of 18 years old that live in Spain have rights recognized by the United Nations and the Convention of Children’s Rights.

Real Life Case

Hello, my 14 year old son’s nose got broken at school, we filed a complaint and he was called upon to declare in Minor’s court. We don’t know our rights or how much compensation we deserve. The Trial will not inform us.

We would like a consult, thank you.

They are the following:

Right of honor, personal and familiar intimacy, and to self image. It is produced by an illegitimate interference of these rights when information, image, or the name of a minor is spread in the media, as long as this suggests a blow to the child’s honor or reputation. These rights also refer to the inviolability of the child’s home, mail or communication’s secrets.

Right for information. Maybe this right is one of the most vulnerable thanks to publicity, and the content of television and videogames. Public administrations must watch over this against the communications media in a way that they must promote messages of equality, solidarity, and respect amongst society, avoiding violent images, interpersonal relationship exploitation that reflect a sexist or degrading treatment.

Right of Religious, Ideology, and Conscience Freedom. Respecting the freedom and rights of others.

Right for Participation, Association, and Reunion. Right to participate freely in social, cultural, artistic, and recreational life and its surroundings, as well as a progressive incorporation as an active citizen. Minors have a right to form a part of juvenile associations and organizations of political parties and unions, to promote children associations and organizations and to inscribe them.

Right of Liberty of Expression. They have the right to express, publish and spread their opinions, de production and edition of media to spread all of this, and the access for help from public Administrations.

Right to be Heard. The minor may exercise this right by himself, or thru a person who the minor designates as its representative when he can reason this. When this is not possible or convenient to the minor, his opinions will be heard via his legal representatives, as long as they are not the interested party or have counter interests against the minor.

Responsibilities and Obligations of Minors
Children have the obligation to obey their parents while under their care, always respect them and contribute to the raising of the family foundations, in the measure of their possibilities and as long as they are under their care. On the parents side, their obligations are watching over their minor children, and they are civically responsible for the damages caused by them, of the derivates of crimes and penal faults, and since 2005: traffic tickets.

Minors of 18 years old or less have different penal regulations applied by a different court than the rest of the population. The judges for the minors are the ones who pronounce over the penal responsibility derived by the facts committed by people between the ages of 14 to 18, the civil responsibility and look over the fulfilling and execution of the sentences. If the minor is less than 14 years of age the responsibility will not be demanded.

Although the Civil Code states that they can’t express consent to be hired, the contract done for a minor is not null, though it can be annulled. Jurisprudence is constant in this aspect: the contract exists but it can be annulled, in occasions. And just like in courts a contract of cell-phones signed by minors have been annulled, they have not pronounced against a service given in practicing a permanent tattoo, well done and in perfect healthy conditions, but without the parents’ consent.

 

Which penalties may be imposed?
To a minor certain measurements may be imposed such as interment in specific centers for minors, they can be in a closed, semi-open, open , and therapeutic regimes. Other measures are ambulatory treatment, assistance in a day-center, weekend permanency in the home or a center, freedom surveillance following the rules set by a judge, ( assisting regularly to a teaching center, and justifying absence to the judge, undergoing formative, cultural, education programs, prohibition of attending certain places, establishments, shows, prohibition of approaching the victim, interaction with people, family, or education group to orientate the minor in a socializing process, community work ( that can only be imposed with minor’s consent ), and warnings.

 

How long can they last?
The measures that can be applied to the minors can’t exceed 2 years. In the case that the minors have the ages of 14 or 15, the measures may be extended up to 3 years, but if they are 16 or 17 the measures may be extended up to 6 years. When the event or action is a serious matter the Judge must impose an interment measure in a closed regime, of 1 to 6 years, complimented successively with another measure of freedom surveillance with education assistance a maximum of 5 years.

 

Foreign Minors
The people less than 18 years of age that are in Spain have a right for education. They also have a right to receive medical assistance and to benefit from every other public service, when the minors find themselves in a situation of risk or under the guardianship of the competent Administration, even if the residence in Spain is not legal. Once the guardianship is constituted, the competent Public Administration will ease the process of the credentials necessary to prove such process for and of the minor.

 

What can be done when turning 14 years old.
Request DNI. This is obligatory.

Obtain driver’s permit.

Be a witness in court.

File a complaint with the police.

When turning 16 years old you may ask for a worker’s permit from the parents or guardians. With this age, as long as the parents and the minor concede this, emancipation may be obtained before a judge.